Our World Of Zeref
by Divinion
Summary: COMPLETE: Sequel to World Without Zeref. A World Without Zeref has left its mark on all of Team Natsu and the question remains unanswered; which world is worth saving?
1. The Ball

**Hey Fairy Tail Fans!**

 **If you're here it'll be because you've already read A World Without Zeref. If not, I would thoroughly recommend reading that first! But in case you've forgotten or it's been a while since you've caught up, here is a very quick summary of the last story...**

 **Previously:**

 _ **At the Eclipse Gate, Natsu, Erza, Happy, Gray and Lucy are transported to a world in which Zeref had never existed. It turns out that instead of being brought back in time they experienced a 'ripple' in time, a preview of what would happen if they actually destroyed Zeref. In this, they found that Fairy Tail was a dark guild and constantly fighting Pixie Wing. Gray was a traitor to FT, joining his father and Ur in PW. Erza was a weak barmaid. Natsu simply did not exist.  
In the latest development of the conflicting guilds, Gajeel became S-Class by killing Alzack and Bisca, and there was a race to protect Asuka and bring her to the right guild which lead both guilds to the Grand Magical Games. There, they met Mavis, who had her immortality and killing curse, and destroyed most of FT and PW in an instant. Running away, they realised that the world was unstable and a 'paradox', because the eclipse gate could not exist without Zeref. Natsu also realised that he too had gained the contradictory curse, and killed Lucy before being pushed back through the eclipse gate.  
Natsu is transported 400 years back and is asked to make the choice between saving Zeref or killing him. However, by a twisted series of events, he ends up killing his past self, sending Zeref onto the path of obsession with resuscitating his brother. As they return to the world, he tells no one of this and the eclipse gate collapses. As the world goes 'back to normal', Gray reveals that the traitor he had been in the previous world is not gone and his plans to bring back the world without Zeref...**_

 **Got all that? Good. Enjoy!**

* * *

The room was glittering beautifully that evening: Crystal chandeliers hung and danced light across the polished dancefloor. Morsels of food that cost more than an entire year's wages were scattered throughout the lavish tables and rested gently on the waiter's silver platters. Huge pictures of elegant ladies and gentlemen smiled subtly at the passing guests as they chattered amongst themselves and commented on the artwork and grandeur. These weren't the normal respectable guests, however. It was clear to see that some of these men and women wore their outfits with more ease than others, people from all walks of life laughing and dancing side by side with only one thing in common; they were all wizards from guilds that had participated in the Grand Magical Games. While they had all been rivals only two days previously, now that the games were over until the next year each one of them was able to turn to another with friendliness and open hearts, already reminiscing about which had been their favourite and most shameful moments.

No one was able to share the joy of the moment more than the victors themselves. Every one of Fairy Tail stood and chatted eagerly with anyone that asked. Cana flexed her 'muscles' and showed off her record breaking powers to anyone that was interested, receiving a further challenge from Bacchus and the two quickly disappeared into an alcohol-induced blur. Juvia blushed as she found herself surrounded by admirers, trying desperately to push past them and keep her eyes on the beloved as he slipped as far as possible from her. Gajeel was content simply on eating all of the food that was placed on offer, though Levy had to point out to him that the metal plates themselves probably weren't intended to be eaten. In all of the commotion Lucy stood at the centre, describing not only the events of the day but those of the impossible three days. To the celestial wizard, somehow saying it out loud made it feel like just another adventure that they had taken, yet another obstacle that they had overthrown. If she kept her mouth shut then the trauma of the entire situation would be even more horrifying. If she kept quiet, the horrors of dying and watching her nakama die around her would have sank into her soul. Right now, in front of the fellow wizards, she felt as if she was simply saying a story, yet another of her unpublished creations, yet another tale with a happy ending.

It was a story that Gray didn't like to hear the end of. To him it hadn't simply been a moment that could be forgotten or a casual jump into a foreign land. His eyes still flickered with the flames that were not intended for this world. His memories still burnt through him, memories of a childhood that had been built in the impossible world. It was easier to sink into the Fire Maker's world than his own, even with the horrors of the Grand Magical Games still fresh in his mind. The Gray from that world was stronger and right now his unweildy personality was reigning supreme without any resistance from the Ice Maker.

"It must have been horrible."

Gray turned suddenly, realising that the princess was standing right beside him. He frowned, knowing that he didn't like the patronising tone to her voice, nor that she was speaking to him so openly when there were many others around. While he had wanted to use this ball as an excuse to catch the princess and fortify their plans, he couldn't risk any of his guild hearing that he was keeping in contact with such a powerful woman. "It was," he said simply through gritted teeth.

"I have to ask…" she said slowly, looking between Lucy and the other friends that she mentioned as she continued her story for the tenth time that evening. "Is it true? Was everyone killed?"

He wanted to scream at her and it took everything in his power not to suddenly break the character of the sullen apathetic ice maker. "It is," he hissed, a gleam in his eyes as he looked at her warning her to back away from the conversation. "But it was still better than this world. Have you come up with anything?"

She hesitated, looking down suddenly as she twisted her fingers around her golden bracelet awkwardly. "I'm not sure. I think so. But there will be several things that we need to succeed."

"Such as?" he snapped impatiently.

She looked back at him questioningly, trying to remember every image she had seen of the Ice Maker on the lacrima while they had fought in the Games. While she couldn't say that she trusted him, and he had certainly warned her not to even try, she wanted desperately to at least understand his motivation. "The 12 Zodiac keys, and a powerful celestial wizard to use them," she said, both of them turning to glance at Lucy as she absorbed herself into some of the more pleasant memories, the small blue cat occasionally jumping in and reminding her of all of the joy that she might have left behind (mostly in the form of fish). "It took us seven years to gain enough magical energy to open the Eclipse Gate before. Every year is more powerful than the last, however. I think another year like this one will be enough this time."

"A year?!" Gray exclaimed, barely able to keep his voice low.

Hisui frowned at his impatience. She had already waited seven, he could certainly put up with one more year. "That's if it's possible at all! Besides which, the Grand Magical Games is the only real opportunity we have to absorb magic in this kind of scale. The Games is our only chance."

Gray cursed under his breath. An entire year. He had known that it wouldn't be easy to get to back to his own world but had never feared that it would take quite so long. He dreaded to think of what a desolate landscape his entire world had already become, what would become of the empty guildhalls of Pixie Wing and Fairy Tail and how much would have changed by the end of a year. "If you can create the Gate… can you take it back to whatever time you want?" he asked, his eyes fading into deep thought.

The princess frowned. Time was running against them and she knew that she couldn't keep talking to the ice mage without gaining suspicion or an audience. But she also knew that this may be the last chance they would have to talk through this plan for some time. "I'm not certain," she admitted. "Although we spent seven years working on the Eclipse Gate there's still so much that we don't know about how it works."

"We need to find a way," he said, gripping his hands into tight fists. "We need to go back to before Mavis destroyed the guild. Before Mavis entered Crocus. Your capital and my guild rest on that."

She nodded and sighed a little breath of relief, realising now that Gray was not so cold-hearted as he may have appeared. While he was betraying his friends by recreating the Eclipse Gate, he still was doing everything in his power to protect them from the new world they were creating. "I can't see why we can't, but it may take even more power than we had anticipated. I'm not even sure if Time Magic is possible…"

His eyes grew wide as the realisation dawned on him. "It is…" he whispered, knowing that he had seen the lost magic before. "I know someone who might be able to help us…" he thought, cautiously trailing through memories and trying to remember if he had met the beautiful young woman in this world as well as his own. The lines between the two worlds were so blurred he found it nearly impossible to pick the memories apart, and even harder to purposefully find something in the more painful shattered history of the Ice Maker.

"I hope that you're right," Hisui told him, watched him carefully as she stepped back away from him, preparing to gracefully approach the next closest victor and announce her gratitude to them as well. As she stepped away she heard Lucy describing the reputation of the traitor Gray had become, vividly describing the feelings in the guild as he had disappeared with Arganon and Pixie Wing. She frowned as she stared into his eyes, giving her dutiful bow to the victor, deciding that she would keep her suspicions to herself.

Just as the princess thought she had convinced herself what had happened to him, Gray held out his hand. He pulled his energy to the palm of his hand as it grew suddenly cold, twisting and turning into an iced Fairy Tail symbol. "A gift," he explained. Slowly he bowed his own head politely, partly to respect her royalty and partly to hide his smirk. Ice magic was not impossible for him, even with the Fire Maker firmly in the driver's seat of his mind. He had memories of his father teaching him the skill, Lyon and him excitedly comparing fire and ice. It was clear to see as he looked back into the princess's eyes, however, that it had more than helped falsely convince her that he was not the traitor that Lucy was describing.

She blushed deeply, obviously instantly regretting her assumptions and finding herself lost in more curiosity. "Thank you," she said, accepting the iced figure within her hands. "And once again, congratulations on winning the Games. I look forward to seeing you again next year," she said meaningfully, gliding across the dancefloor towards Erza.

While most of the guild had barely battered an eyelid at the maker wizard and the princess's exchange, there was one who had noticed it with increasing curiosity. While Juvia had stolen Lyon's attention for the majority of the evening, swanning over her victory and the wonderful display of strength that she had given, as he glanced over to his fellow student he had not expected the frown that crossed his face. Without a word he pushed past the water woman, receiving the blankest of confused expressions as he moved with heated purpose towards Gray. Firmly he placed a hand on his shoulder, hissing "We need to talk," into his ear and pushing him as hard as he dared without drawing too much attention out of the ball.

Juvia just stood, staring blankly at the two men of her life disappearing with each other. She wasn't sure if it was horrific or alluring, frozen in her own fantasy.

The further into shadows that they disappeared, the harder Lyon pushed. He wore an expressionless glaze in his eyes as he stormed forwards, intent only on moving the fellow ice maker as far from civilisation as possible.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Gray hissed at him, finally turning around and taking several steps back on his own accord. The party was a distant murmur through the darkness from her, right in the heart of the grand gardens that surrounded the royal palace. It had been at least five minutes since they had seen the last royal guard or even the odd couple trying to disappear into the privacy of darkness, and Gray was starting to become agitated. "What the hell is going on?"

Lyon frowned, realising that the anger that was emanating from his rival was only convincing him of his own suspicions. He had succeeded in at least taking him as far from the rest of the wizards as possible. "I'm going to give you one chance to come clean," he told him, a dark and dangerous glare in his eyes as he spoke. "Who are you and what have you done with Gray?"

 _Dammit._ Gray took another step back. He had been careful, incredibly careful. He was certain that he hadn't been overheard in his conversations with the princess and he couldn't think of any other ways that he had acted differently to his iced persona. They were technically both the same person, after all. "What the hell are you talking about you, icy bastard?!" he exclaimed.

Lyon twisted his hands together, one palm against the other fist as he pushed his gesture through the air. Bright blue streams of magic erupted from his body, the ground behind him shaking as the familiar huge gorilla of ice grew. It continued Lyon's glare, diving deep into Gray's soul as he was once again forced back a step in shock. "If you're going to pretend to be Gray, at least don't be stupid enough to insult ice," he warned him, pushing his hand into a finger pointing straight to the target.

Suddenly his huge creation roared, crashing forwards and bounding through straight towards the new traitor. Gray's eyes went wide, jumping out of the way at the last moment as shards of ice sliced through the air. He gasped as the splinters scratched against his jacket, tearing it at the seams across his shoulder-blade and almost striking flesh. "Damn it, Lyon, it's me!" he shouted out, desperation now lacing his voice. For a moment he almost forgot how real Lyon was, finding himself trapped in memories of fighting his childhood friend. He leaned down, his hand pressing against the earth and encasing it in a thin layer of dazzling ice, using the slippery surface to dodge out of the ape's wild lunges.

Anger flared in Lyon's eyes. There it was again. Quickly he twisted his hands together again, another huge beast appearing behind him. The giant snake hissed through the air, twisting as it lunged forwards towards the foreigner with huge glass fangs. "Gray would never use one-handed magic," he told him, recounting the iced gift that he had given to Hisui that had been created on the palm of a single hand, a tell-tale sign that this man was not his old rival. "It's an insult to Ur to even suggest he would cast such imbalanced magic." He looked at the stranger, his eyes gleaming dangerously as he crashed both of his creations forwards. Inside he was shaking, desperate to know what had happened to his friend. Whoever the man in front of him was he was not Gray, he was nothing like the man that he had known as a boy, the man who had beaten him with his two-handed spells and his unwavering conviction in Galuna Island. He knew that meant that Gray was somewhere unreachable right now, even if he couldn't see the true extent.

A gasp left Gray's mouth as the snake and ape both collapsed on top of him, splintering into a chasm of steam. He gritted his teeth tightly, bracing himself for an impact that never came, his arms around himself and pulling on the shield spell. In a second his magic flipped, twisting to form the soul that now inhabited his body and pulling on a deep twisting flame. His eyes flickered against the brilliant orange flames as they licked the two ice beasts, melting them into defeat.

Lyon took a staggered step back, his words choking in the back of his throat. He could feel horror as he saw the fire dancing around the ice maker, feel a sickening feeling rising inside of him at the look in his eyes. Everything about it felt wrong, everything in his instincts told him that this was an enemy and this could be nothing more than a nightmare. "Fire…" he breathed the word, and with it the realisation. He had heard Lucy's story several times over the course of the night, though he hadn't paid it much notice before now. He could see Gray was standing taller, see that these were not just the simple multi-coloured fires of Flame Magic, nor the ridiculous strength of dragon slayer, but they were manipulative and twisted into impossible shapes, blade after blade whispering through the dark night so similar to the ice maker magic that he had defeated Rufus with only hours before. While the element had been different, Lyon could clearly recognise Gray's imprint on the creation magic. "Fire Maker… You're the Gray from the Eclipse world…" he breathed.

Gray's eyes glistened menacingly, stepping over the puddles that remained of Lyon's ice magic as they hissed a stream of steam. "That's right," he said, keeping his eyes pinned on his childhood friend.

Lyon gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tighter, ready to fight even harder if that was what was necessary. "What the hell have you done to our Gray?!" he demanded.

Gray continued to step forward slowly, realising that Lyon was flinching back from his approach. The Fire Maker put two fingers to his own head, as if pulling an invisible trigger. "Don't worry, he's right here," he smirked. "He's just letting me in charge for now."

Lyon could feel new anger rippling inside of him. If this was true then he couldn't harm this man, not without harming his true friend. Though he'd never before had much issue with beating Gray, he could tell from his aura and threatening gestures that this man was willing to make any injuries more permanent than Lyon would have ever desired. "Bastard," he hissed, finding himself genuinely as trapped as he was confused. "What the hell do you want from us!?"

Finally, the Fire Maker stopped, tilting his head to the side. Though he hadn't intended things to end up this way, he was going to do all he could to make the most of the situation. "I'm taking back the world without Zeref. My world," he hissed, ignoring the sadness that tinged his words as he thought of the place that he had left behind, of the carnage that had been in his very last moments. "And you're going to help me."

"Why the hell would I help you with anything?" he cursed, already desperately trying to think of ways to pull his friend from whatever darkness he had twisted himself into.

"Because I can bring back Ur."

Lyon stopped. It felt for a moment like his heart had stopped beating. All colour drained from his cheeks, his eyes went wide and he could only stare at his nemesis. "What…?" he breathed.

Gray smiled, realising that he had hit the exact same chords that had helped seep him into this world in the first place. Ice Makers could be so predictable. "Lucy failed to mention Ur had been one of the members of Pixie Wing, didn't she? I'm creating my world again, Lyon, a world with Ur. But in that world, she was one of the members to be taken over by "The Sudden Death", Ankhesram," he flinched, desperately trying to push back the darkness that threatened to twist his soul with every mention of the contradictory curse. Anger helped him through the pain, fuelling both his flames and his determination. "I have every faith that we can manipulate the time travel enough to prevent this is happening, to save Ur and my guild, but to do this we need to find an expert. I need you to track down Ultear."

"U-Ultear…? You mean Ur's daughter? Is she even alive?" Lyon trembled, still not quite able to process the idea of coming face to face with his old master, though the idea enticed him enough to listen closely. The images Lucy had painted of the Sudden Death were enough to pin him in fear, realising the images that his friend must have seen in the other world were even more horrific than he had imagined. Suddenly he understood why Gray had been so eager to slip and fade into the alter-ego. He knew just how hard it was to survive after watching your entire world collapse and he had himself once let the darkness lead his own steps.

Gray frowned. He could see images of the dark-haired time wizard, but those images came slower and were cloaked in a cold edge. The Gray who's body he was taking over was feeding him this information, either unable to stop himself from thinking of the beautiful woman or willingly helping the Fire Maker's quest to save his family, even if only temporarily. "She is," he nodded confidently. "Although I don't know where she is, I know that she can control Arc of Time magic. With her help we have a chance to get Ur back."

Lyon could feel his willpower wavering. All of his morals felt as if they were at breaking point, knowing that if there was a flame wizard at his own back, he probably would have let him into his own soul rather than face this ethical dilemma. He knew that he should have been running inside, should have been warning Fairy Tail and the other guilds that there was a rogue Fire Maker that was effectively trying to destroy the world. But the world that he was promising to replace it with sounded so tempting. He swallowed hard, taking a few small steps forwards and trying to find some hint of coldness in Gray's eyes, some hint that he was still hidden inside. He shook his head, realising he could see nothing, that the Ice Maker had given himself completely to the flames. In this, however, he knew that if Gray trusted this new version of himself, Lyon had reason to as well. "If you're going to keep up this charade, you're doing a terrible job so far…" he groaned, folding his arms across his chest. "You didn't have me convinced for five minutes, how long do you think your friends will last?"

Gray frowned. "Then you'll help me?" he asked hesitantly.

Lyon nodded, feeling as if in doing so he was waving goodbye to all goodness in his soul. Again. It would take some time for him to explain everything he would need to know to convince the others that this was the Gray of this world, far longer than he had, but he was at least willing to try. It would also take more than he could imagine to try and find Ultear and he had to question exactly why the Fire Maker wasn't going to do this himself when he clearly had already met her. He had no time for questions, however, knowing that he needed all of the time in the world to convince a flame to act like an icicle.

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 **Oh, and a sidenote. Unlike the previous story, I have next to none of this already written, so posting will be slow. Especially because I'm working on three pieces at once. I am, as many of you are aware, a binge poster anyway so I don't think this will be too much of an impact. Feel free to give me a kick if you want the next chapter, and as always, please review! 3**


	2. A Consideration

Natsu was thinking.

While it may not have been entirely accurate to say that the dragon slayer never usually thought, it was certainly rare of him to spend any amount of time on it. He had always much preferred to punch through his problems, to go for the ever popular 'Plan T' and Take Them Head On, but now the nemesis he was facing was his own confusion it was an entirely different kind of issue to tackle. In addition to this he knew that he couldn't even rely on his friends to do the thinking for him, knowing that he was reluctant to open up to any of them about exactly what he had seen within the Eclipse Gate. He had come to the conclusion that the last few images, the moment where he had killed his childhood self, had been nothing more than an incredibly confusing dream, but he still couldn't shake the idea that it still had some deeper meaning.

"So what do you think?" he asked, his legs crossed and looking up at the tiny master. He felt like a child in a classroom in front of the wise old man, his eyes wide and waiting for the knowledge to pour down and finally give him some of the clarity he craved. He'd been telling the master exactly what had been going around head for the past couple of days, every sound, sensation and smell from the world with Zeref, focussing on just how real it had seemed.

The master listened diligently, understanding that Natsu had not come to him easily. He had always been careful to make sure that every one of his beloved children had everything that they needed, but because of this his free time was not always something that he could easily donate to just one person. Natsu had been both lucky and careful to find him that evening, surprisingly sober for the late hour and still able to give some of his advice, if only he could think of how to proceed. "That is interesting indeed…" he commented gruffly, running his fingers through his moustache and feeling almost as perplexed as Natsu had.

Natsu leaned forwards, doing everything in his power to stay sitting and not bounce into action. "You see? I mean, I know it was just a dream and everything, but it felt really real! I just don't know what it could mean."

"And you say that after you had this vision, the Eclipse Gate broke down?" the master persisted.

Natsu nodded. If he was willing to trust his instincts, he would have known that his vision had caused the destruction of the Eclipse Gate and it had been his conscious decision to save his brother that day. It just seemed too unbelievable even for him. He looked down at Happy, realising that the small cat was curled into his side. This had been the first time that he had told his feline companion the story too, but neither dared to question just how ridiculous it sounded. For a moment he would have almost preferred if they'd both simply laughed and he could discount it as some huge joke.

"Hmmm…" the master hummed under his breath, continuing to scratch his moustache in contemplation. "I'm afraid that my knowledge on the Eclipse Gate and Zeref is limited, but one thing that I do know is this: the woman that you described, Anna Heartfillia, was definitely real."

Natsu's eyes went wide. Happy jumped up, curiosity driving the cat forwards. "Lucy's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-?" he asked, cut off before he could finish how many generations had passed.

Makarov nodded, frowning as he pulled on the information through his years of knowledge. "-Grandmother, yes," Makarov finished for the small cat. "Though most of her history is either forgotten or fantasy, Anna Heartfillia was a great Celestial Wizard who became obsessed with the idea of time travel. The legend says that she came closer than anyone in finally achieving her goal. But then the legend says that she was also slain by a giant red dragon."

" _Igneel…_ " Natsu breathed.

"-Some four hundred years ago, Natsu," Makarov quickly reminded him.

"Oh."

Natsu frowned to himself, sitting back. It was impossible for him to hear the word 'dragon' without instantly thinking back to his father, without missing his presence and feeling the burning desire inside of him to rush back out into the world and scream his name until he finally found him. It couldn't have been coincidence, he decided, that the legend of Anna Heartfillia was combined with one of dragons, and it only sparked Natsu's interest further.

"Tell me, Natsu," Makarov began to speak again, his own curiosity growing as he looked up and down at the young man. He remembered vividly bringing him into the guild, the way that he had spoken of an impossible upbringing. He had been laughed at on that day, and even as he cast the fabled dragon slayer magic there had been those who had doubted his story even now. There was something completely unbelievable about all of Natsu and sometimes it was worth remembering that things could not be so easily explained. "Do you remember any more of your childhood yet?"

Natsu frowned deeply, gripping his ankles as he rolled his eyes. "Of course I remember it all. I remember Igneel, I remember his lessons…"

Makarov cut him off with a shake of his head. "I don't mean of the dragon, of caves and mountains and unchanging things. I mean cities, people, villages, festivals…" he coaxed gently.

Natsu grimaced. "Igneel was a dragon. We didn't really need to talk to people…" he admitted, knowing that the master already knew this. When he had first come into the guild he had struggled with some of the most basic things. Though Igneel had been a wonderful teacher there were certain behaviours that could not simply be taught, and even now he found himself shouting instead of speaking in tone with everyone else. "What's that got to do with the dream?!"

The Master wasn't certain. "Just a hunch," he said, knowing that it was worth at least considering that perhaps it hadn't been a dream. Even Natsu had claimed that it had felt real and the old man had never seen the boy so worked up before. "Why didn't you speak to your friends about this?" he asked, glancing to Happy and seeing his reactions as he heard everything.

Natsu looked away, unable to even meet Happy's eyes as he spoke. "They wouldn't believe me," he huffed.

"That's not true, Natsu!" Happy chimed up, putting a tiny paw on his knee. "You know I'd always believe you!"

"Not you, Happy," he said, affectionately putting his hand on his head and brushing back his ears.

"Happy is right," Makarov had to agree with a nod. "Your nakama trust you. I don't think any of them would have questioned this."

Natsu wanted them to question it. He didn't want to believe it at all, didn't want to have to process exactly how he felt about any of this. He felt as if a piece of his history had been placed before him but it was dark and ugly and he wanted nothing more than to simply hand it back. He didn't want to handle this change. He gave a heavy sigh, still refusing to look at either the master or Happy. "Because if it _was_ real… Or a little bit real… I destroyed the Eclipse Gate. And I know that I did it to save Fairy Tail, and I know that it was the right thing to do, but I don't think Erza and Gray would be OK with that…" he said slowly, finally after all of these years understanding the way that his friends had been mended from broken childhoods, knowing just how much darkness had shaped them over the years.

It had been exactly as the master had expected but it pleased him to hear the confirmation that Natsu had been as thoughtful as he had suspected. Though he didn't agree with him keeping the secret from his nakama he could at least respect that Natsu had grown enough to respect his friend's and their losses. "That's probably for the best," he had to admit awkwardly. "Gray and Erza have faced more hardship from Zeref and his worshipers than most, but they are not alone. There may be others less understanding than your friends. Even if it was a dream, we best keep this between us for now."

"Don't worry, Natsu, I won't tell anyone," Happy smiled back at him.

Natsu grinned back at Happy, knowing that he at least had him no matter what else could come and go. No matter how confusing the world became he would always have his feline friend by his side. "Thanks, Happy," he told him, looking up at the master and wishing he could pull more answers from his wisdom but seeing already that he seemed as blind as he was. That didn't mean that he hadn't gained some valuable knowledge, and now he knew that he was not alone. "It's just a stupid dream, I know. I mean, if it was real I'd be dead, or I wouldn't exist right now, wouldn't I?" he said with his head slightly tilted to one side, thinking that he could somehow pull out a more plausible explanation than that if only he had the brain capacity. "Or really really old. That was four hundred years ago. And I'm not immortal, either, because I keep growing," he said, internally flinching a little at just the thought of immortality and the curse that followed.

It had been another reason he had asked for the master's counsel; Ankhesram and the destructive dark power that had consumed his body clawed through his thoughts. The image of Lucy's face draining of all colour haunted his dreams, burned into the back of his eyelids even if he closed his eyes for just a second. He needed just a little more assurance that the deadly power would not make its way back into this world, that the curse could never hurt another soul again. With that he gripped his fists tighter. He had made a promise to himself and to Zeref that one day he would destroy him, and with him he would be destroying every last piece of Ankhesram. "I'm going to destroy him, gramps. I'm going to defeat Zeref," he decided.

For a second Makarov fully believed him. He had the heated determination that he was used to seeing in his brats, the wild look in his eyes that told him he would stop at nothing before he achieved his goal. But he shook his head. "People have dedicated their entire lives to destroying Zeref before…" he reminded him gently. "And you have no way of finding him." It wasn't that he didn't want Zeref to be destroyed, nor that he wanted Natsu to do so, but he had seen far too many innocent men and woman stumble off the right path on their eternal struggle to find Zeref. For some reason the road to finding Zeref was one laced with corruption and darkness and all too often the goodness of their hearts faltered and the numbers of the dark guilds grew and grew.

"I don't care," Natsu said, rising back to his feet with the flames twisting around his fists. "I'm going to find him, no matter what anyone says. He's hurt my friends, and he's pissed me off, and I need answers. He has to know something about Igneel," he decided, not because it particular made sense but just because he desperately wanted it to. "One of those dark guilds has to know something."

"Natsu," Makarov growled, a dangerous gleam in his eyes that matched Natsu's determination, knowing that they both fought with a protective power. "You know there are rules against inter-guild conflicts."

"Who gives a shit about the rules?!" Natsu yelled out.

"Clearly not you…" Happy happily interjected.

Natsu gritted his teeth, continuing his rampaging desires. "He is one guy, _someone_ has to know where the hell he is. We found him and we weren't even looking for him!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sick of those dark guild bastards attacking us and we have to hold back and do nothing! We got our chance now, right now, to finally take an advantage and get them before they get us!" he said. He remembered Fairy Tail's frustrations in the other world, the way that they had always felt one step behind the enemy. No matter which way around the darkness and light fell, his beloved guild always seemed to be too slow and pushed to the defensive, when all he wanted to do in that moment was scream and punch something and finally make some sense of the twisted world in front of him.

Makarov stood on the top of his stool, knowing that if he wanted to he could make himself as big as the entire room. Intimidation was not something that worked easily on the dragon slayer, but he could at least demand some respect. "We will not pull this guild into a war!" he yelled at him, knowing that Natsu had seen exactly what price could be paid for this costly mistake. "You will not attack another guild, dark or official or independent, not until you find yourself in a life or death situation. I will not let you put the rest of these brats in danger."

Natsu shook in anger. He kept his mouth shut, trusting the guild master too much to question his judgement but feeling truly and deeply hurt that he could even begin to think Natsu would bring any harm to his nakama. He was a destructive force, he was unpredictable and wild, but never _never_ would he have allowed anyone to be hurt because of his actions. The fires around his fists died down. "I hear you, old man," he said, already turning the words over and over and trying to find the best loophole that he could.

* * *

 **I feel like its been forever since I last posted... really? Only 4 days? Well that just goes to show what a binge poster I was before, doesn't it? I'm not sure how quickly the next ones will be up as I literally only have one more chapter written, and two other stories being written at once, but I'm aiming for one a week.**

 **But oh my god the new manga! Wah!**

 **Anyway, reviews are loved always :) I try to reply to all I can - Guest, thanks for your kind words! I still have a lot of brainstorming with Ultear so I guess we'll both find out haha!**

 **Shout-out to Zunifex and BlueFlaw to replying to way too many of my PMs and constantly giving me reviews :)**


	3. The Request

Nab stared at the Fairy Tail mission request board. Today he was determined. Today he would find the job that was perfect for his skill, and indeed if ever there was a time it should have been now. The request board had truly never looked so full, not even before the guild's strongest members had disappeared seven years previously. The victory of the Grand Magical Games had raised their popularity far beyond their normal territory and cliental, and the jobs that now littered the board in streams of white and black parchment crossed even country boarders in a wide range of magical abilities. Nab glanced with interest at each and every one of them as people came and went from his side, mentally positioning each job with the perfect wizard, though he knew that it rarely worked out that way. As Gray stood beside him, he commented casually "There are even jobs from Isvan on here now. That's where you're from, right?"

The look on Gray's face made Nab instantly question whether he'd said something racist or offensive. In truth, the frown on Gray's face was brought on by a plaguing headache. The Ice Mage inside of him had already blocked off all memories from him and he was relying completely on the brief bits of information Lyon had given him at the party and what he had been able to pick up from quiet observation, and no one had been willing to disclose the more unpleasant memories. He had discovered, however, that the closer he came to a painful memory, the more his head would ache. It made sense to him that his homeland would hold some unpleasant moments, but he had been surprised that even just the mention of the country made his eyes water in pain.

"Can you see anything Happy?" the dragon slayer was overheard talking to his feline companion.

Happy gave a small sigh. "Nope…. But how about this one?" he asked, flying over to the board and putting a tiny paw against one of the easier jobs.

Natsu shook his head. "That's still quite a way out…"

Gray tried to pierce through his headache by looking back to the Ice Maker's old companions. As always, it seemed to work well, but almost to a fault. When Gray had the clouding pain, he found himself quieter and more subdued and in turn this helped him play the part of the ice maker, particularly when he was supposed to be acting damaged. It wasn't that the Fire Maker wasn't affected by what he had seen in the other world, in some ways he had been even more so as it had ultimately been _his_ family destroyed in the contradictory curse, but his normal reaction to these things was to flare in anger. Ice cold pain soothed him into submission, and for now reminded him how he was supposed to be playing his new role. Looking at the dragon slayer brought its own concerns, however. Gray had been searching for a solo job because he did not yet fully trust his ice abilities. Although his magical energy was strong and ice magic was not an entirely foreign form to him, he had realised from Lyon that his technique was noticeably different. Lyon had noticed the quickest due to their close and familiar training, but it was only a matter of time before his friends also began to take interest. "You got somewhere you need to be, Pyro?" he grunted under his breath.

Little did he know, Natsu had his own concerns over a shared job. Though he would never outwardly disobey the master he knew that there would eventually come the time that he would once again cross the dark guild's and retrieve his much needed information. Unfortunately, he just wasn't that patient. He knew he had to be in the right place at the right time, and while there were several rumours floating around dark guild activity he would do everything in his power to make sure he was as close to the action as possible. While this was his main reason for wanting to travel to a specific area, it wasn't the only one. "Me and Happy are going to Collingwood Valley, and we want to pick up a job for the way. That's around the last place I saw my dad. I'm sure we'll find something this time, right Happy?"

"Aye, sir!"

Gray frowned, turning back to the board. Though he knew little of the geography of this world, he knew in his own world the area was a quiet collection of farms and small peaceful towns. He could understand why Natsu was having difficulty finding anything from the desolate area. "Well, good luck, I guess," he shrugged, internally sighing with relief as he realised he was making a point of going only with Happy.

"How about you? Hey there's even jobs in Isvan right now…" Natsu said, keen to make sure that his friend did not want to make his mission into a full team event. The five hadn't been together for a job since the other world, and while Natsu had to admit that he missed their company he couldn't risk the others getting caught in his own personal mission, especially not with the Master's warning still ringing in his head.

"Why does everyone keep assuming I want to go back there?" Gray hissed quickly, the pain returning with a vengeance. "I'm just looking for something I don't have to split the money a million ways, or lose it because of some stupid mistake."

"Hey, you were the one who stuck the Ice Geyser in the middle of the town hall last time!" Natsu defended himself quickly.

"Wasn't that because you set fire to it…?" Happy corrected.

"Just who's side are you on?!"

Gray tried to hide his surprise that his unintended insult had actually worked in his favour. He still had a lot to learn about his relationship with the dragon slayer, but the more he saw of it the more confused he became. Lyon had said that he hadn't fully understood it, to the point where he admitted all of his descriptions and information would probably be misleading. Lyon had seen them both as a common enemy and as a common friend and all he knew for certain was there was some mixture of friendship and rivalry, but exactly how much of each was anyone's guess. Gray's hasty comment hadn't been directed specifically at Natsu, but it had taught him that this was the kind of insult Natsu had clearly expected from him. Gray found himself smiling as another piece to the puzzle slotted into place. Mika may have been right; it was good to have another fire wielder around.

"Oh, you're both looking for a job?" Mirajane asked casually, stepping up to the fire wizards with a sweet smile on her face that Gray simply couldn't get used to.

"Hey, Mira, do you have any jobs that are in Collingwood Valley?" Happy asked, standing on the table to try and reach slightly closer to the takeover wizard's eye-level.

"Collingwood?" Mirajane blinked. "Isn't that where the rumours of the new dark guild are coming from?"

"We're looking for clues about Igneel!" the cat announced happily.

"Oh!" she said, clearly pleased with the answer. She had always thought that the determination that Natsu had for finding his father was a positive energy throughout the guild, and in turn, the guild had always shared his hope that he would one day find his goal. "Then you're in luck! I actually have a job in that area, and it specifically has your name on it!" she grinned, pulling out the slip of paper from her folder and passing it to him.

"Oh great!" he said. There had been quite a few named job requests over the past few days but he had never felt more thankful towards a requestor before. He quickly took the paper from Mira, scanning it over for details he thought he would care little about. "Wait. This says Ice Block, too."

Gray glanced over Natsu's shoulder, seeing both of their names scrawled along the top of the flyer.

Mira nodded, looking exceptionally pleased with herself. "That's right. They specifically asked for both of you."

Natsu glanced back at the job, not realising both he and Gray were internally swearing more than usual. "It looks like a really easy job… for a hell of a lot of money…" he murmured under his breath, realising that it unfortunately ticked all of the boxes that Gray and Natsu had both been outwardly looking for in a mission. Not only was it in the area he needed, it also included tracking a beast, giving him opportunity to hunt for the dark guild and an excuse to be close enough to provoke an attack. Anything after that even Makarov wouldn't have been able to call anything but self-defence.

"The master was very specific about this job," Mira told them seriously, crossing her arms and pressing her folder and notepad to her chest. The master had been very specific – specifically dreading this job. He had even begged Mira to withdraw it, knowing how much damage Natsu and Gray could do together. But Mira had faith. They were the cornerstones of Fairy Tail's Strongest Team, after all, and it would have been rude to refuse the job under such a lack of faith. Eventually she had convinced Makarov to have hope and keep the job open, though he had never truly been happy about it. "Besides, Erza and Lucy are at the photoshoot with Sorcerer's Weekly for the next two days. I think it would be a great job for both of you in the meantime," she told them happily, tilting her head to the side.

Both Natsu and Gray glanced at one another, finding it impossible to argue. Natsu knew that he needed this job regardless due to its location, and Gray simply didn't know enough to offer a valid reason to refuse.

"If we leave now, we can get there and finish the job in no time!" Natsu told Happy confidently.

"Aye! But Natsu, do you really think you going on a mission with Gray is a good idea…?" the small cat had to ask.

"Huh? Why not?" Natsu asked, as if genuinely ignorant.

"You promise you won't fight too much?" Happy asked him with a frown.

"Of course not!" Natsu announced with a new determination in his voice. "Come on then, Ice Block, lets go!"

Every part of Gray had a bad feeling about this. He desperately tried to search through memories new and old to see if there was anything that could get him away from this secluded mission and disappear into the world alone. He still somehow had to manage an entire year's worth of company within the guild, however, and to do so he knew he would have to take some risks. With a sigh, he followed the dragon slayer.

Nab watched the two leave, absently wondering how much damage the contrasting wizards could inflict upon the quiet valley, eventually shrugging his shoulders and continuing his search for the perfect job.

* * *

Collingwood Valley was as beautiful as it was serene, far from the bustling streets and the violent mages of the cities. The nearest guild was officially several miles away, and while there had been whispers of a dark guild appearing somewhere in the vast expanse no one from the valley itself particularly took this seriously. It was the kind of open stretch where you could walk for days in circles and never once meet another human, so it was of little surprise that someone had chosen to make this into a secret hideout. The villagers from the closest town, Rangefall, only muttered at the mild inconvenience and the reputation to their sleepy world. After all, they had been dealing with beasts of all shapes and sizes for many years, and unless one became a significant issue they rarely called for anyone to help. They had a few scattered guards, some that dabbled in the basics of wizardry, and in more recent years, two young women that were in constant need to fight anything that moved – including each other. While the latest 'beast' of the area had been enough to distract Grace and Summer into alliance for just a moment, it hadn't been in the way that they may have hoped.

"This is gonna be so awesome!" Summer announced excitedly, her legs swinging from over the fence and looking over the horizon to try and see when the two figures would finally approach.

Grace rolled her eyes at her companion, but even she had to admit that she had an excited smirk on her face. She leaned against the fence that Summer rested on, her eyes following in the same direction and counting away the seconds. "I don't get your logic… but I kind of hope it pays off," she shrugged.

"When have I ever let you down?!" Summer beamed, jumping back onto her feet. "The plan will be _flawless_."

"The plan is ridiculous, and you clearly don't understand men," Grace folded her arms across her chest. "You really think that just by dropping them both in a mission together they'll instantly decide to hook up with each other?"

"YES." Summer had a manic grin across her face as she pulled on her Sorcerer's Weekly volumes and thumbing through every picture of Natsu and Gray – particularly those of the two standing side by side. "Because _you_ clearly don't understand **_the burning desire of unrequited love_** "

Grace just had to laugh. While it was true that she didn't quite understand 'unrequited love', she understood the obsession in Summer's eyes. Long before the Grand Magical Games the two had spent hours reading about the guilds of far cities, the adventures that the wizards there had been on, comparing it to their own sleepy lives. While many had caught their attention, there was something about Natsu and Gray the pair found themselves drawn to, and with their victory at Crocus the female friends finally resolved that they would find a way to meet their idols. Unfortunately, ever since coming to Rangefall they had found it impossible to leave. The villagers were powerless without them and while danger came rarely they were painfully unprepared to deal without their protectors. Every time that they had packed their bags, the newest threat would appear. She took in a sharp breath as she finally saw the two men coming into focus. "Quick, put those away!" Grace ushered Summer quickly, gesturing to the magazines and helping her pack them all away. "Worth every jewel…" she murmured.

"Hell yea!" Summer beamed, sharing a fist-bump with her friend.

* * *

The Fairy Tail mages made their way through the halting and awkward explanation of the newest beast to plague the valley as the women both spoke over one another in their haste. They explained of how the beast had been feared, causing havoc to the nearest farmers, though this had been more than an exaggeration. The people of this valley rarely worried for anything and had once again assumed that the female wizards would take care of the new threat just as they had taken care of every beast before them, though they had failed to mention this part of their challenge. It had cost their entire reward and more so to pull upon the two celebrities to take care of the job for them, but the gleam in their eyes was clear for the world to see as they told them of the task ahead, excitedly mentioning their guild and victory of the Grand Magical Games rather than the challenge ahead.

A little more confused than when they had first arrived, Gray and Natsu disappeared back into the valley to try and find a beast big enough to have caused a problem and return to their own solo missions as quickly as possible. With only the most basic of directions it would be nearly impossible to find anything in such a large expanse of land, but it did at least give them the chance to explore the secretive area.

Gray stared down at his hand as he walked, flexing his fingers and feeling the cold air grip his palm. He frowned at his power, watching as the icicles dug into his flesh before carefully melting it down and repeating the process. Every time he used his powers he kept the ice just a little longer, felt the cold seep into his skin as long as possible and bracing the pain of the tiny puncture marks. He was so captured by the constant repetition that he barely noticed where they were going, nor the audience that he had captured.

"What are you doing?" Happy asked cheerfully, flying around his head and putting himself at eye-level with the ice magic.

Gray quickly closed his fist, aware he was not behaving like his old self. "Practising," he grumbled. While it was the truth, he knew it was no kind of excuse. He wasn't doing anything intricate or particularly difficult on the surface but to him it was a balance between fire and ice, not that he could explain that to his old friends.

"With one hand?" Happy questioned further.

Gray felt like swearing. Even the cat had realised his casting was different, and now Natsu was looking at him with curiosity. He nodded swiftly. "You never know when you might need it," he explained sharply. The explanation seemed to hold off further questioning for now, and the attention began to swing towards just how lost they were becoming. "Which way now, Dragon Breath?" Gray asked at the crossroads, hands deep in his pockets and still trying to figure out how to abandon the others and train in peace.

"Uhhhh…." Natsu looked down both paths, unwilling to admit that he had absolutely no memory of either. In the back of his mind he could see the mountains and rivers, trace the world from images that he had seen from a dragon's back. He remembered there was a river nearby, and in the sudden silence his memories were confirmed by the sound of trickling that only he could pick up. He still couldn't remember this path, however, though it looked old and worn. "This way!" he announced suddenly, bounding forwards.

Neither Gray nor Happy were filled with confidence.

"Didn't you grow up here, Natsu?" Happy asked, choosing to walk by his usual companion instead.

"Sure I did. Somewhere around here. It was a pretty long time ago," he shrugged, struggling to remain confident.

"Oh! So you're lost!" Happy exclaimed.

"I'm not lost!" Natsu defended himself, not certain why the cat was picking on him so much today – or why the Ice Maker wasn't. He glanced back to Gray, realising that once again he was immersed in creating the tiny icicles on his palm, this time using both hands to manipulate his power. Natsu was starting to grow concerned. While in the busy and energetic guildhall he had barely noticed the distance Gray had kept from everyone, but walking beside him it was inescapable. The Dragon Slayer had been too caught in his own burning questions to even consider the marks the alternative world had left on his friends, though he couldn't deny even if he had noticed there was little chance he would have done much about it. It wasn't as if Gray considered him as a close friend, he thought as he remembered with some pain how easily Gray had chosen the impossible world over Natsu's future. In the moment, as fire fought fire, he had understood the choice, but over time it started to sting like an untreated wound. The silence hurt. They hadn't had a real fight since, and his fingers itched for a chance to face the Ice Maker again, but he just didn't seem to be taking any of his bait. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that there was barely any interaction at all, inexplicably filling Natsu with guilt as he wondered if Gray somehow knew he was responsible for saving Zeref's life. It only seemed to be confirmed as he looked into his eyes and saw a stranger staring back.

Suddenly, the path stopped.

"We're so lost!" Happy yelled, wings fluttering wildly.

"We're not lost!" Natsu exclaimed once again. "Besides, we're tracking a beast, it's not going to stick to paths!"

"Can you get a scent?" Gray asked, refraining the urge to roll his eyes.

"How the hell am I meant to know what it smells like?" Natsu asked, a thousand scents flooding his senses as he tried to focus on anything unusual. Unfortunately, the entire valley felt unusual to him. The trees, the animals, and he was certain there would be many beasts and dangerous creatures lurking in these parts that would never attempt to come out of their woodland homes.

Gray sighed, realising that this was getting them nowhere. "Alright then, how about we make this interesting?"

Natsu blinked. "Interesting?"

Gray nodded, folding his arms across his chest. "Whoever finds and hits the beast first gets the other's share of the jewel."

Natsu grinned from ear-to-ear. With his heightened senses he was confident it would be a simply victory, and knew it would be foolish to try and pass up this chance to beat his rival. "You're on!" he cheered, even happier to see that some of the competitive nature between himself and Gray had been rekindled. "Come on Happy, this way!"

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed, quickly following Natsu into the wilderness.

Gray smiled to himself, feeling smug with the way that things had turned out. Natsu had been sufficiently convinced, or at least excited enough to turn a blind eye against Gray's façade. He could now practise in peace, but that didn't mean that he would give up on the challenge that he had placed. He could feel his power growing at just the thought of beating the dragon slayer at his game, especially knowing that he was supposedly at the disadvantage, but he could only hope that luck would be on his side. It took everything in his power to not craft the fire wings onto his back and soar through the forests in the same way that Natsu would no doubt be using the Exceed, but he knew that he had come here for training in Ice Making alone.

The valley was vast, so vast that there would have been no way that the two would have accidently crossed paths even if they had been walking into the same corner. It was for the most part peaceful and quiet, but dangers lurked even in this corner of Fiore. Beasts and creatures reared their terrifying heads, but on opposite sides of the forest they were quickly dealt with. None of them seemed to meet any of the requirements the two girls had offered, but it had at least created some well needed target practise to the fire maker.

The more he crafted his ice, the more his memories drifted back to Ur. Not the Ur of this world, the one that made his head sting with pain, but the one in his own world that had been by his father's side. While his own memories still stirred something painful in the body he held, they were at least a little easier, and he thought of the few moments he had had where she had tried to teach him her magic. He had been an attentive learner at first, taking in her craft and moulding the shapes with a grin on his face. He remembered showing it to his mother, the look of horror across Mika's face as she watched the ice witch turn her son against her. He didn't learn any more ice magic from Ur after that, barely even able to spend time with Lyon without having disapproving looks. Slowly, even she began to pull him away from his own father, seeing suspicions and deceit wherever she looked. Trust no one was the message she had burned into him. He had endeavoured to teach this lesson to the world.

His ice magic struck something solid.

Gray looked up, realising that he had been lost in his thoughts and the unexpected shift to his magic brought him back to this reality with a jolt. Glancing between the trees and vines, he tried to see what exactly had stopped his powers. Nothing looked out of the ordinary and so he lifted his hands and created another lance. The crystal shard shot through the air, twisting through the vines and stopping suddenly in its tracks. The air rippled and shivered, the ice seeming to spread unnaturally through the world, twisting and forming as the giant blue creation unravelled before his eyes. Gray took several stunned steps back as he could see the ice was spreading higher and higher, huge shards twisted from the ground as the air continued to ripple and reveal more and more of the crystallised structure. Soon it stopped and he was left looking into the gaping hole of the icy tomb.

* * *

 **So... yeah. Summer and Grace. Don't worry, they are not going to be big characters. I mostly just added them for 'comic' affect. *cough***

 **Reviews are appreciated :)**


	4. Slayer vs Maker

Natsu sat victoriously on top of the conquered beast. At least, he could only assume this was the correct beast. It had certainly been the biggest one for miles around, so high above the treetops that he was amazed that he hadn't been able to see it sooner. It had put up a surprisingly good fight as well, but it was worth the additional bruises to have the smug satisfaction of beating the ice wizard in his own bet.

Happy, however, had his own take on what had happened. He flew up and stood on the very tallest part of the fallen beast, his tiny paws on his sides and looking even more smug with himself than Natsu had. "I did it!" he exclaimed.

Natsu looked back at the feline blankly. "Huh?" he asked, leaning forwards. "What do you mean _you_ did it?"

"I did it!" Happy said again, this time even more proudly. "You said that whoever found and hit him first would win. I won!" he said.

Natsu blinked. Of course, Happy had been the one sweeping through the trees, he had been the one to fly straight into the giant monster without seeing it right in front of him, officially landing the first 'attack' as he bounced straight off the thick scales and rolling back into the forest. "Uh…" he said, realising that he probably should have mentioned that the mission had never even mentioned Happy. It had only offered the role to Natsu and Gray and technically the small cat was never supposed to be a part of it, though Natsu would have never accepted the job without him. The dragon slayer grinned instead, seeing just how happy the exceed was and knowing that it was important for him to be an important part of the team. "Alright, alright," he grinned, standing up and jumping back down into the ground. It was pointless to complain about the money when the two shared all their earnings anyway and either way they had still beaten the ice block. If anything, it was even _funnier_ he'd been beaten by Happy. "You can buy the victory meal then!"

"Mmmmmm I wonder what kind of fish they have over here…" Happy asked himself, jumping down and standing close to Natsu's heel.

Natsu grinned, realising that it was only right the money should be going towards fish if he'd won fair and square. "It's a lot of money. That'll be a lot of fish."

"I'll let you have some too," Happy told his friend, as if he would have a choice. "Hm, I wonder why Gray would have risked such a large amount when he said he was needing a job for the money," he sighed, shrugging his cute shoulders. "I guess he must not be very smart."

The realisation spread slowly over the dragon slayer that Happy was right. He'd been specifically searching the job board for something he could keep the money from and while Natsu hadn't questioned it at the time it now seemed obvious Gray had been lying. He frowned. It was a completely unnecessary lie. Every one of them had taken on solo missions and they never needed to give an obvious reason why. Sometimes it was for money, sometimes for the journey, sometimes just because the smallest of rewards could be the most interesting missions. While it wasn't Natsu's preference and he never went without Happy, he wouldn't have stopped any of them. "Where the hell is that Ice Block, anyway?" Natsu asked, looking around himself. They hadn't exactly been quiet in their battle and he knew that more than one of his attacks had left a spiralling flare of flames into the air.

"Maybe he was just too embarrassed to be beaten by a cat," Happy wondered aloud.

"Maybe…" Natsu wondered aloud, trying to work out what they were supposed to do now. They had ventured far from the path hours ago and he had even less memory of this area than most of the valley. All around him were earthy scents, miles and miles of thick foliage, persistent weeds and haunting trees. It seemed impossible to think that there were any signs of human life but then he suddenly remembered that there was supposedly more than just an irritating ice maker here. "This is our chance to find out about the Dark Guild, and if there are any clues about dad," he said with new determination, cracking his knuckles against the palm of his hand.

"Aye!" Happy jumped up excitedly, knowing that if it meant a lot to Natsu then it would mean the world to himself too. The pair jumped back into the forest, leaving the defeated monster alone.

At first they tried to use some small hint of logic to find their way, trying to remember exactly where they were leaving their defeated beast and where they had last seen the remnants of a path. They had tried to use the sun, familiar trees and rocks and the fragmented memories of the dragon slayer, but more than once they ended up arguing over their direction and whether or not they were walking in circles. It was only a matter of time before they dropped all thought and began to simply come to terms with the fact they were hopelessly lost. They agreed that it was best to simply walk until their feet wouldn't take them any longer, or at least this was Natsu's understanding of the agreement. Regardless, they continued to chatter between each other carefree as they embraced the warm and sunny day.

It was this beautiful weather that caused Natsu to look at Happy, tilting his head as he noticed his blue fur was standing on end and he was holding his tiny paws together. "Are you cold?" he asked him curiously.

Happy nodded, moving closer to the warm fire wizard. "A little."

Natsu looked back up at the sky, trying to find any hint of the temperature drop. The cold would have had to be severe to affect the fire inside of him, but even if he couldn't feel the chill himself he knew that it could not have come from the clear blue sky above them. He frowned, knowing that it must have been magic causing his companion's coldness, but it must have been a drastic amount of ice to affect Happy before Natsu had even caught a scent. "What the hell is he doing…?" he asked himself, trying to focus on his heightened senses and pick up where the ice maker might be. He hadn't wanted to find him yet, he'd wanted to continue his search, but he knew that if he didn't regroup with his companion while they were obviously close he may not have the chance again before darkness fell.

Happy perked his ears up, realising which direction was colder than which, instinctively following Natsu's trail of thought and going towards the cold. "Maybe he found the dark guild?" he questioned innocently.

 _"Shit."_ Natsu hadn't even considered that while he was wasting time on the simple request Gray could have been walking straight towards their true goal. Now it seemed that any victory they had taken over the beast could easily be overturned by the ice maker and all bets would be off. He bolted forwards, knowing now that the flakes of ice that hovered through the air were from such a huge display of magic that would have never been cast against anything as meaningless as the monsters that roamed these parts. The closer he got the more he convinced himself that Happy was right, Gray had found the dark guild, but unlike Natsu he would have been unprepared. While Natsu didn't doubt his abilities any more than his own, and though he would have gladly barrelled headfirst straight into the guild, he found himself for the briefest of moments wondering if Gray could stand up against an entire guild.

Natsu's feet skidded to a halt, Happy flying straight into his back. The small cat whimpered, rubbing his head and climbing over Natsu's shoulder, his eyes growing wide as they looked up at the iced structure before them.

Huge stalactites rose into the sky, casting beautiful reflections across the forest floor. The blue crystals hung onto black spires so thick it was almost impossible to tell what lay beneath the thousands of dazzling reflections. The building itself clearly rivalled Fairy Tail in size and grandeur, but with the added layer of ice it was closer to the size of Kardia Cathedrial. "Holy shit…." Natsu whispered, his eyes wide as he stepped forwards. Even he could feel the biting cold now in a way that he'd never felt it before, something about the way the cold hung in the air that made him feel like he was struggling to even breath through the twisted atmosphere.

Happy looked up at the same wide-eyed amazement as they slowly walked forwards, gently as if the shining floor would crack under the dragon slayer's feet. "Is this the dark guild…?" he asked, staring up at the doorway as they passed through it, shivering away from the cold blades that hung down from the edges.

Natsu's eyes followed with the same amazement's as the small cats, trying to catch the scents through the air and finding it almost impossible as the cold made even the air stand still. The halls filled with a strange glow as the light flowed from one crystal to another and he reluctantly instead relied on his sight, arching his head around more doorways. "I guess it is…" he said slowly, realising in horror that this building had not been empty. Not only were there thick black walls coated in ice but there were also chairs, tables, plates, and as he looked closer, people. He stood in front of the nearest victim, making out through the fractured glass prison the man before him was screaming eternally. "Did Gray really do all of this…?" he found himself asking, glancing over the dozens of frozen wizards poised ready for battle.

There was a smugness to the Ice Maker as he stepped forwards, standing out like an impossible beacon among all of the blue and white. "I would have thought you of all people would be able to tell the difference between Slayer magic and Maker magic," he told him.

Natsu looked confused as he glanced back to Gray, thinking for the briefest of moments that he'd never seen his friend looking so uncomfortable surrounded in ice. He dismissed the idea quickly, trying to process the riddle that had been placed before him. "Huh? You mean…. This is Slayer magic? An ice dragon slayer?!" he asked, looking up at the way the entire building sparkled in the light. He had suspected that all of this was beyond Gray's capabilities, at least in such an instantaneous casting and there had been something unfamiliar in the smell of the entire building that had unsettled him.

Gray looked around himself, trying to decide on the answer to that question. While he had been certain this was Slayer magic, he knew that it had a different feeling that it did in his old world. As he put his hand on the table he could feel the energy passing through his fingertips, the nostalgia both making him flinch and filling him with a strange sense of impossible hope. He knew his father's magic. "It's some kind of Slayer, though I can't say what kind," he admitted. "Slayer magic, in its most raw form, is far more powerful than maker magic-"

Natsu grinned. "That's what I keep saying!"

Gray glared to himself, not daring to make eye contact as he said "But Maker magic can become limitless depending on the user's personal skills. Slayer magic is constrained to the spells already created by some long dead brute."

Natsu froze. It felt as if the ice had suddenly hit him, a sharp and painful slice through his heart. He had heard many insults come out of the ice maker's mouth, he'd shared more hurtful words than they'd cared to admit, but not one had stung so deep. "What the hell did you just say…?" He was so much in disbelief he could barely even say the words, knowing that anger was only a heartbeat away.

Gray glanced back to the dragon slayer, realising that his words had cut deeply. "Not you, idiot."

Natsu could feel his hands curling up into fists. His teeth hit each other and gritted tightly, his entire body beginning to shake. While part of him wanted to believe that his friend could never be so cruel the words were burying deep inside of him. He had been searching for his father for years, and though he didn't want to admit it, his biggest fear was that something might have happened to him. It was something he'd always been quick to call an impossibility, but knowing that the twin dragon slayers had supposedly killed their own teachers only threatened the idea that maybe even dragons weren't as invulnerable as they seemed. The last thing he could stand to hear was his supposed nakama echoing his thoughts out loud.

A sudden sound broke his trail of thought, causing the three to suddenly turn towards it. At first it sounded little more than scratching, but Natsu quickly picked up the panting of breath. There was a survivor, he realised in some hope, suddenly remembering why he had been after the dark guild in the first place. His eyes shone brightly, bounding forwards and following quickly by Gray and Happy.

The round man rocked back and forward, looking at the blocks of ice on his feet in dismay. He seemed almost oblivious to the carnage all around as he tried to hit the impossible ice, pulling up his legs and trying to smash them against the ground. "Hoohoo… this is no good…" he whimpered, his hot breath disappearing into the air in a thick cloud. Slowly he became aware that he was being watched, expecting another survivor and looking upwards expectedly. He jumped suddenly, his eyes pinned on the ice maker as cold sweat appeared on his forehead, trying to feebly cover himself in his hands. "Don't-don't-don't ice me! I can help you…! Wait…" he glanced back, his eyes adjusting more to the unusual light. "You're not him… hoohoo… who are you?"

Gray's eyes narrowed, realising that the man's misplaced recognition only confirmed what he already knew; the man who had attacked this guild was none of than his own father. Though he didn't understand how it was possible, he could feel the cold inside of him growing dangerously close to pulling itself back into reality. He didn't want to rely on such unexpected hope, having to concentrate as hard as he could to avoid pushing back the cold with a hot flame while Natsu and Happy were so close. "We could ask the same of you," he growled, finding himself hating this man more than he ever should have. Something about him made his skin crawl and he absently wondered if the body he possessed had any memories of him, though it seemed unlikely from the surprise.

Hazoula looked at them both, shivering both in terror and from the temperature. His eyes raced over the Fairy Tail mark on Natsu's arm and he quickly realised the predicament that he was in. Somewhere he had his own Raven Wing guild mark, but his loyalties would always lie on his own self-preservation. "Hoohoo… My name is Hazoula. I can help you, yes? I can help tell you everything you want to know… just…?" he gestured to the block of ice on his feet, looking hopeful that these people had a kinder heart than he possessed.

"Huh?" Natsu tilted his head to the side, looking at the request in puzzlement. "Why would we help you?!" he asked, the same inexplicable hatred in his own words that Gray was feeling.

The man squirmed backwards, realising that he was in an even more precarious situation than he might have realised. "Please! I'll tell you anything, I can help you! Hoohoo! Please, you can't leave me here, I'll die if you don't free me!"

Natsu's eyes flashed dangerously. He couldn't explain the red hot anger he had inside of him now, couldn't understand why the cold was biting so deep into his flesh, but he grabbed onto the round man's shirt and dragged him upwards. "Then start talking. _Where's Zeref_?" he asked, his words dripping with bloodlust.

The coward's eyes went wide, not daring to take them off the dragon slayer. He could feel the heat beneath his fingers, see desperation burning in his eyes that filled him with terror. "Z-Z-Zeref? No one knows where Zeref is…" he mumbled his words, wondering why anyone from an official guild would bring up such a question.

"Wrong answer," Natsu said through gritted teeth, raising a flaming fist into the air.

"W-Wait!" Hazoula shouted out suddenly, wanting anything but to feel the burning punch at point blank range. "I mean, I mean, that's just the question isn't it? Hoohoo? The question on everyone's mind, yes…" he stumbled, realising that he needed to buy himself as much time as possible and it really was an impossible request. "Ah, yes, well, almost every dark guild in Fiore is after Zeref, yes? Does he even exist, hoohoo?" Natsu's eyes narrowed. "I-I mean, if he does-if he does then Tartarus will find him first!" he said quickly.

Natsu's fist lowered, his eyes widening. "Tartarus?" he asked.

Hazoula let out the smallest breath of relief, knowing that his life had been spared for another thirty seconds. "T-T-They're demons… demons from the Books of Zeref… They've been growing in strength, taking out rival guilds… this was-this was them… Hoohoo… Their Demon Slayer…"

Natsu and Gray looked around each other for the briefest of moments, taking in the true extent of the destruction that had happened here. This was an entire guild, made up of wizards of all shapes and sizes, and just one member of 'Tartarus' had taken them down in one fell swoop. Natsu's mind was reeling back to Lullaby, to Deliora, to all of the memories of the Books of Zeref. Gray's head screamed in sudden pain as he desperately tried to flinch as little as possible at the forbidden memories. "The Demon Slayer who did this, did you see which way he went?" Natsu asked him eventually, knowing that no matter how much danger lay ahead he couldn't simply turn around. He needed his answers, he needed Zeref, every instinct inside his body telling him this was the right direction to take.

"Hoohoo…. Free me and I'll tell you…?" the man suggested.

Natsu suddenly raised his flaming fist. The man let out a sudden scream, but the punch came nowhere near his face. The block of ice shivered as Natsu's attack hit straight against the centre, but it didn't move. "What the hell? What kind of freaky ice is this?" Natsu asked, trying to pour more of his flames into the shard.

Gray rolled his eyes. He knew his father's ice would never shift under the weight of his mother's flames, though he had to be impressed that even the dragon slayer magic hadn't been able to melt it, even if he had to question if Natsu was using his true potential. "I already told you, idiot, it's slayer magic," Gray explained, remembering the lessons his father had taught him, the sparring which had ended all too quickly and all too violently. It was one of the few reasons that he had had to use ice magic in his own world, his true reason for keeping the skill sharpened. Slowly he put his hands down, trying to concentrate on manipulating his powers into a two-handed form as the shards began to twist and shudder, gently breaking apart and twisting into an intricate pattern beneath Hazoula's feet instead of around them.

The dark wizard grinned as he looked at his feet in amazement, trying to work out how quickly he could run away. Natsu seemed to have the same thoughts, however, as he quickly grabbed him once more, the threatening look back in his eyes. "Now you keep your end of the bargain. Where did he go? Where is Tartarus?"

Hazoula tried to worm his way out of the dragon slayer's arms, but his grip was too tight and he could see the ice maker close by with the same menacing look. He swallowed nervously. "A village. Hoohoo. Yes. A village, near the Eastern border, called the Sun Village. I heard him talking about it, yes."

Natsu finally let him go. The round man scrambled suddenly as he fell to the floor heavily, not even taking the time to fully bring himself back to his feet before rushing to the exit, falling over himself and sliding over the heavy sheets of ice as he made his escape back into the vast valley. Gray, Natsu and Happy all watched him go, every one of them wondering if it was for the best to let a member of the dark guild run with his life when he could so easily take another. They all had allies that had once come from the darkest of guilds, Gray in his own world had been a part of a dark guild for almost all of his life, and moral choices were even more difficult when they were within your hands.

Gray could feel his head aching even as they stood in silence, but knew that he had more pressing questions that would only make his pain increase. "This is why you wanted to come here, isn't it?" he asked under his breath, glancing back to Natsu and his feline companion.

Happy shrunk behind Natsu, looking up at Gray with wide innocent eyes. "Please don't tell the master! Natsu made me do it!" he exclaimed.

"Happy, we've not done anything wrong!" Natsu quickly hushed the exceed.

Gray folded his arms across his chest, realising that he had no right to these secrets when he had been so reluctant to bare his own, but he couldn't stop himself from pulling on his deductions. Inter-guild conflict had always been a taboo of Makarov's no matter the world and even he hadn't been oblivious to the rumours of the dark guild that had been in the area for some time. The only mystery lay within Zeref himself and that was what made his head hurt. "Why are you suddenly so interested in finding Zeref?" he asked, his eyes narrowing and wondering how this would potentially help or hinder his own plans.

Natsu and Happy looked between each other awkwardly.

Natsu pulled his hands into fists, wondering how to answer Gray. He trusted Gray, not necessarily in the right kind of way, but he knew that he should have been able to explain everything to him. He should have been able to explain how he had singlehandedly saved Zeref already, broken the eclipse gate and caused the death of so many of the ice maker's loved ones. Or at least he had had a dream where he had done all of those things. His issue wasn't that he was afraid of Gray's reaction, but more afraid that he simply wouldn't react at all. The apathy was painful. "Why wouldn't we be?" he asked rhetorically. "After everything we saw in the other world, I know he needs to be defeated."

Gray looked a little confused. Though he couldn't be certain, he had always been under the impression that the dragon slayer had been on the side of this world. "What do you mean?" he asked, testing his theories. "The eclipse world was better than this one, wasn't it?"

Natsu hesitated, hearing a slight hiss in Gray's voice that confirmed he simply didn't believe the words he was saying. It stung, but he'd already been told that Gray's loyalty lay closer to his deceased parents and master than to Fairy Tail. "It was different. And every single difference was because of something horrible Zeref did," he said, his words filling with fiery passion the more he spoke, his eyes igniting in determination. It wasn't the world's differences that had caused him to be so shaken, it was the differences in his nakama. The red-head and ice wizard had been two entirely different people and for the first time he had realised it was because their entire lives had been drenched in blood and heartache. Pain that Zeref had caused for them both. "He has hurt my friends. Even before I knew you. I won't let him get away with it. I will defeat Zeref."

Gray's eyes widened as he watched, both impressed and terrified by the darkness forming around his nakama. There was a strange edge in the atmosphere, even the slayer ice around them seemed to creak and ripple at the heated words. A small smile crossed Gray's face, feeling that even the ice maker hidden deep inside of him was warmed. "Then I'm coming with you," Gray said determined, knowing that even if he couldn't bring his own world back, he would destroy the man who had stolen his happiness.

Natsu hadn't intended on taking anyone with him, especially not the ice block. He shook his head quickly. "No way, ice princess. I'm taking this."

"And me!" Happy reminded him, a little unsettled that he might have been forgotten.

"You really think that you can take this on by yourself?" Gray questioned him. Though he knew painfully little about Zeref himself, a weakness that he suspected would no doubt trip him up if he delved deeper into finding him in this world, he knew that he must have been incredibly powerful to have killed so many and remain alive. Mavis was his closest comparison and the moment in the stadium was enough to make him flinch.

"I'm not dragging anyone else into this!" Natsu said, determined and still not having confirmed that even Happy would be by his side. "You saw what Ankhesram can do! That's Zeref's power!" he said, the image of Lucy falling lifeless into his arms still burning through his mind. No one else would be hurt because of him, he decided.

Gray gritted his teeth angrily, wishing that he could just throw a flame straight towards the dragon slayer. He was making him angry, an anger that felt natural towards both sides of his personality. "Your flames can't melt this ice, idiot. If you're going after this guild, you won't even be able to take on the first guy. I know how to fight this kind of slayer, you need me there," he said, his eyes dazzling dangerously.

"Then just tell me what I need to do," Natsu said, determined and stubborn, refusing to reveal his true reasons for needing to take this journey alone. Though his number one priority would always be the safety of his nakama, he had questions to ask Zeref he couldn't afford being as easily overheard as his last interrogation. "I can handle ice."

Gray shook his head, unable to believe just how foolish he was being. "Not this kind of ice."

"How the hell could you know that?!"

"Because this is my father's ice, you idiot!" Gray screamed.

Natsu took a stumbling step backwards, seeing something in Gray's eyes he had never seen before. The Ice Maker before him was breathing heavily, his entire body shaking in an anger that for once he didn't think was directed at him. His teeth were gritted, eyes wide and wild like a cornered animal, and everything about him was like staring at a stranger. Natsu's own eyes grew wide, trying to make sense of the sudden transformation as well as the words that he had just said. "Your… father…?" he questioned slowly. "But he's dead… right?"

Gray took in a shaking breath, trying to pull back the pain that was breaking through his head. For the briefest of moments, he could see a hidden memory, a flash of his parents lying dead in the bloody snow, before it instantly disappeared into pain. "I don't know. Yes. Yes, he is," he stared downwards, trying to make sense of the contradicting information from both worlds and becoming completely overwhelmed. "I-I recognise the magic from the Eclipse Gate. It feels exactly like his. But I don't understand… how that's possible…"

Natsu looked back at Happy, telling himself that the sudden outburst must have been yet another sign that the Ice Maker was finally cracking. The dragon slayer could only look at him in despair, wondering if it was even possible to hold together the pieces of his old friend after the things that they had seen in the impossible world. Though the thought did cross his mind that he was finally losing his mind and imagining the powers of his deceased father, Natsu didn't dare question him, knowing how important belief was. It meant that Gray had his own desperate questions to ask that Natsu couldn't deny while he so was driven by his own desire for answers.

Happy nodded up at the dragon slayer, both resolved that their team would remain as three. "Let's go!"

* * *

 **Rereading this I finally understand why this took me days and days to write x.x the chapter after this only took me a couple hours, I swear. But I'm getting myself seriously confused over this storyline. It might take me a while to work this out haha**

 **Thanks once again for reviews, followers, favourites and PMs :)**


	5. Time and Chaos

A brilliantly bright smile spread across the barmaids face as she saw the female members of Fairy Tail returning to the guild. The hall had been far too quiet lately. Though the atmosphere had been a positive one it had left the takeover mage a little bored for most of the day, and it was always important for her to have some female company. She had to admit that she was a little jealous when they had been approached by Sorcerer's Weekly to do a 'Fairy Tail A Girls' spread, but was excited when she had heard that the B team would only be in the next issue. "Did you have fun?" she asked them all innocently.

To anyone else in the guild that was obviously quite a loaded question. Lucy creaked her neck as if she had been battling for days. "I can't believe that modelling would be such hard work…" Lucy sighed, falling into the nearest chair and leaning heavily against the table in front of her, knowing that she had a sudden respect for the glamour models of the guild.

"I don't see what you're complaining about," Erza said, her eyes flashing confidently, remembering the outfits that she had finally had a chance to wear. "It's character building."

Mirajane looked back at the celestial wizard, genuinely surprised that she would be so exhausted over what should have been such a simple task. Juvia, Cana and Mira would be going through the same ordeal for the next week's episode and Mira had already been approached for a double page spread. She had been excited to have Cana and Juvia alongside her, especially as the two had both been acting particularly distant since the games, but was now beginning to worry it may be too 'intense' for them. "What about you, Wendy? Did you have fun?" she asked, seeing Wendy slip into the seat beside Lucy, helping her feline companion jump up onto the table beside them.

Wendy gave a long sigh. "I didn't get to do much… that was embarrassing enough… I hope I was still good enough…" she said, her face still burning red as she could feel the eyes of the photographers. As much as she hated the idea of the entire kingdom looking at their 'sexy' photoshoot, she hoped that she hadn't let Fairy Tail down and they had could recover enough photographs in the short time she had to spare. "Carla wasn't feeling well, so I was looking after her for most of the day instead," she said, looking at her exceed with concern.

Carla put a hand on her forehead, the familiar frown across her crisp white fur. "I've told you, I'm fine now," she said, though she was only just beginning to get used to the disorientating images that flashed before her eyes.

"God _dammit_!"

The few members still in the guild suddenly turned, all eyes on the barely clothed brunette woman sitting in the back corner. Her hand slammed across the table, her cards jumping up as the entire table shook. A look of frustration knitted in her brow, picking up the closest card and spinning it over in her hand before throwing it in the air, angrily blowing a stray hair out of her face.

"Is something wrong, Cana?" Mirajane asked, curiously stepping forwards.

Cana looked back, realising that she had a very female audience suddenly. She leaned backwards, taking her nearest drink with her. "I've been trying to do a fortune telling all week and the cards are showing nothing but nonsense," she said, knowing that she was too angry at her precious cards to even consider tidying away her deck right now, leaving them scattered all over the table and floor. The more frustrated she became, the harder it was to make her readings, but right now she felt powerless beneath her cards.

Erza looked the most concerned. "Could something be draining your powers?" she questioned gently.

Cana shook her head, leaning further backwards and picking on the closest discarded card. "Not a chance," she said, gripping the card between her fingertips and carelessly pulling out a summoned flame. "My card magic is as strong as ever, it's just the fortune telling that's showing up nothing," she said, her created flames bouncing in her glaring eyes.

Wendy looked back at Charlie. "Didn't you say that you've had trouble with your fortune telling too?" she asked her companion, leaning in and gripping the side of the wooden table.

The small white cat looked at them both in surprise. "Yes… that is true," she said with a nod. "That has been the reason I've been feeling unwell. I was starting to really improve my fortune telling, but last week the images started to feel fragmented and distracting…" she said, frowning once again and putting her paw to her forehead.

"A week ago…" Lucy breathed, looking between them all with her eyes wide. "You don't think that this has anything to do with the Eclipse Gate, do you…?" she asked with dread, not even able to think of what a world without a future could unravel.

"The Eclipse Gate was intended to change history…" Erza thought out loud, a serious look of consideration written across her face. It was something she hadn't wanted to give too much thought to, knowing that the gate had some goodness and some darkness hidden behind its broken archway. Whatever it held, whoever it had held, it hadn't been worth dwelling on when it was so unobtainable. If there was some damage that had been left beside the scars on their souls, however, it may have had looking into more.

Lost in thought, Erza slowly became aware that she was expected to have said more. As she looked around, quickly she realised that their conversation was between every member of Fairy Tail that remained as the guildhall was so unbelievably empty. "Where… is everyone?" she asked questioningly.

Mirajane looked around herself, sighing in disappointment at the quiet hall. "Well, we still haven't recovered as many members as we used to have before we disappeared for seven years…" she admitted, knowing that the loyalty of Fairy Tail was not as strong as it may have seemed, at least not for all. "Almost everyone is making the most of the full job board. For a lot of people, it's the first time that they've had a choice in jobs in years, and there really is something for everyone! Even Natsu and Gray found a job that they could agree on," she said proudly.

The girls blinked.

"Natsu and… Gray? On a mission… together?" Lucy asked in disbelief.

"I suppose they have been getting on a lot better recently…" Wendy said under her breath, still a little confused and not quite sharing Mirajane's optimism.

The takeover barmaid nodded. "I'm sure that they'll do an amazing job," she said, ignoring how the master had ran off to count all the savings the guild had and prepare his apology letters upon hearing that the two had taken the request together. She had so much faith it was borderline delusional. "It was actually very good luck, since Natsu and Happy were looking for something in Collingwood Valley anyway…"

"Collingwood Valley?" Lucy asked, trying to remember why that name sounded so familiar.

"Uh huh. They said it was something to do with finding more information about Igneel," Mira informed them all innocently.

Erza gripped her fists suddenly. A look of darkness spread across her face, anger suddenly flaring in her eyes. She knew exactly what that location meant. She remembered walking past the guild and overhearing the master shouting something to Natsu about keeping away from dark guilds. At the time, she hadn't understood and wanted to give Natsu the benefit of the doubt, not believing that even he would be stupid enough to go against a direct request from the master himself and while she still had no idea why he was needing a dark guild the location was simply too convenient. "Idiots," she hissed under her breath, the death glare across her face even making Lucy and Wendy shudder when it hadn't even been directed towards them. "When did they leave?" she asked Mirajane.

Mira put her hands on her hips, one of the very few in the guild who could stand Erza's wrath without intimidation. "You have to have some faith in them," she scolded her rival.

"I have every faith in them," Erza asked, "But when a dark guild is so close to their location I do not have faith in our enemies," she hissed, wanting very much to believe that she had been mistaken and that Natsu had been oblivious to the rumours and gone on the mission for his own needs. She didn't place much belief in this idea. If she hadn't overheard Makarov's warning, if she had been oblivious to Natsu's half-drawn plan to pull information from the dark guilds, then she may have given them more of a chance. It wasn't that she was afraid that they would hurt each other, but she feared for the reputation of the guild. "When did they leave?" she repeated.

Mirajane sighed, knowing that she couldn't shield the information forever as she pulled on her copy of the mission request. "Yesterday morning."

Lucy and Wendy both stood, looking at the flyer now in Erza's hands. It looked innocent enough, though the reward seemed fairly high for such a simple task. Then again, the named requests always had a higher price. "That isn't far. They should be back by now, even if they walked…" Lucy murmured, realising that most of the daylight had already gone.

"It's Natsu, they would have walked…" Wendy reminded her.

Erza rolled up the parchment and crunched it between her metal gauntlets, resolved that they would return the boys back to the guild and give them the appropriate punishment.

* * *

When Lyon had first been given his task by Gray, he had to admit that he had been uncertain. From the moment that the two had parted he began to have his doubts, wondering how much he should have trusted the fire parasite that had infected his childhood friend and if he had been too naïve in believing that his Gray had simply let himself be taken over. Every time that he put this to consideration he came up with the same reasoning, however; he had no choice. He remembered the gleam in the fire maker's eyes, the way that he spoke, the way he had held his fingers against his forehead like a gun ready to pull the trigger. If the flame was truly evil, then he knew without any doubt it would have no hesitation in hurting its host. Even if he couldn't release the eclipse gate and fully submerge himself into the idea of saving Ur, he knew for now he had to take one step in front of the other to win some trust. And he truly wanted to believe. He wanted to believe that he could see Ur's face again, to feel the family that years had ripped away from him, to have hope of a world better than this and he wanted to believe that it would be a task he and Gray would do together.

The difficulty now was that he had no idea who Ultear was. He was certain that his master would have looked for her daughter for many years with no avail and now he was supposed to achieve this within a year. He had no idea what she looked like, if she was alive or even which country she could be in. It wasn't as simple as searching all of Fiore because she, like him, hadn't even originally lived in Fiore. He would have to search the entire world.

Lyon knew it was an impossible quest, but it was worth asking the question. It would have been so easy to have cast a simple spell, but even communication lacrima required some knowledge of the person being contacted. With no leads, he found himself taking a similar desperate path to that he had taken so many years before, desperately trying to forget his past defeat as he walked into the clearing, seeing the hunched over figure was already there.

"It's been a very long time," the man spoke to him, a grin passing his face and sliding up to where his blood red mask covered his face.

Lyon looked upon Zalty, remembering the path that he had taken with the strange figure. He had been the last person he thought he would ever need again, impressed and troubled that he had been so eager to take his call after all the years. After Galuna Island, the two hadn't even seen each other since the demon Deliora crumbled into nothingness. Lyon had taken his comrades to Lamia Scale to turn over a new leaf while he absently wondered where the strange man had disappeared to. "It has," he confirmed with a short nod. It didn't make him feel proud to use his underworld connections right now, but while on a path to a new world they were all betraying their moral compasses. "I understand that you're very good at finding people."

The strange man grinned even wider, leaning on his brightly coloured staff. "You could say that, I suppose," he murmured, wondering absently if he could recruit Lyon to his own new guild. "You are in need of someone?"

Lyon nodded once more. "Her name is Ultear Milkovich."

Zalty – or rather, Ultear in disguise - tried her hardest to contain her surprise at hearing her own name. "U-U-Ultear? Why would you want to see her?!" he asked, trying to calm his voice.

As Lyon had suspected, Zalty had recognised the name. Gray had specifically told him that Ultear was capable of Arc of Time magic, one of the lost magics that Lyon would have thought completely impossible if he had not already seen what the mysterious man in front of him was capable of. It seemed to make sense that the two had crossed paths before, if not studied their art in the same place, but he could not begin to understand just how much their lives crossed. "Can you help me locate her?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

The time wizard could feel her heart racing through her chest. Lyon had called upon one of the evilest people he knew to reach Ultear, someone she could confirm he had no knowledge of ever meeting. There had been plenty of opportunities for them to fight or join forces throughout their lives but she could think of no reason why he would want an opportunity now. "She may not want to meet…" she said in her male voice, struggling to keep her magical disguise in place. "She would need a reason."

"Then tell her… its regarding her mother, Ur, and bringing her back."

Her hand was on the mask, pulling back the haunting red features and thick green hair. It dropped to the floor with an echoing clatter, the eyes never leaving the white-haired man's, the smile wiped completely from his face. "You can't do that," the words that came from his mouth were female, ringing clearly through the empty clearing as he stood straighter and somehow not taller, body twisting and filling with curves. Short brown hair began to grow and darken, twisting around her softening features and stopping at the base of her bare back. Female eyes now stared at the Ice Maker, eyes that haunted him from nightmares and dreams alike.

Lyon took a staggering step back, watching his old comrade twisting into the figure of the very woman that he had been eager to trace. "You're Ultear…?" he asked in disbelief, his mouth hanging wide.

She stormed forwards, a vicious look on her face and a cold power rippling through her entire body. "Tell me everything, _Cold Emperor._ Whatever dark magic you're dabbling in this time, you can keep it far away from my mother's memory," she warned him, eyes narrowing.

His eyes stayed wide as he stared into hers, the family resemblance making his heart beat faster. "You were Ultear this whole time…?" he asked, barely able to believe it but without a doubt that he had been played for a fool. "But you were-you- you were helping me… You were helping me melt Deliora… You knew what that meant…"

She visibly flinched, her own dark past once more twisting through her soul. Though aiding Lyon on Galuna Island barely even ranked on the list of sins that she had committed, knowing that she had been the one to help melt her mother into the ocean and come close to unleashing the demon that had ended her life was an unpleasant reminder of the woman she was. "I did. I wanted nothing more than revenge," she said, her hands gripped tightly. "That was a long time ago, for both of us. I realise now that my mother… was not the woman I thought she was. She does not deserve to be pulled into whatever dark magic you have planned," she warned him once more, eyes blazing dangerously.

Lyon took a hesitant step back, desperate to regain his composure. "This isn't dark magic," he said, though it was only half true. The Eclipse Gate had been created by Zeref originally, as Lucy's story continued to point out, and while he liked to believe that the second would only be crafted with light magic the secrecy involved made him suspect it would be created regardless. "This is time travel."

Ultear let out a small laugh, barely able to believe the Ice Maker was trying to lecture the Time Wizard on time travel. "Time travel? Impossible," she rolled her eyes, beginning to pace as she devoured every piece of information she had learnt about her craft. It wasn't impossible, she knew, but the cost was so high it might as well have been.

"Not so," Lyon assured her, arms firmly crossed over his chest. "There is a world, a world in which Zeref had never existed. With none of his cults or followers, no Books of Zeref, none of his demons… not even Deliora."

She could feel his eyes drilling into him even as she paced. Her independent guild would be close and they would grow suspicious if she disappeared for too long and she wasn't sure that this was a conversation she was ready to pass onto them yet. If Lyon truly was taking a dark path then it would be her responsibility to lead him back to good, to take him into the Crime Sorceries if he went too far. "You've seen this world?" she questioned, curious at the determination and confidence in his words.

"I haven't," he told her. "But Gray has."

Her eyes widened. The last time she had known Gray and Lyon to be anywhere near each other was when she had seen the Grand Magical Games on the lacrima and in the few disjointed images she had seen the hatred towards each other had seemed just as strong as in Galuna Island. She would have never suspected that their brotherly bond was finally returning. "Gray…?" she whispered. She couldn't help her heart racing just a little faster at hearing his name, wondering just where the dark-haired wizard had ended up in the world. He had seemed to do well in the Games and she had truly hoped to speak to after, though she told herself this was just to learn what information they had gathered on Zeref's magic. Unfortunately, it had been Jellal relaying parts of Erza's message at the end of the Games, and suddenly the pieces starting to slot into place. "Of course. It was the magical energy from the Games."

Lyon looked a little surprised that she hadn't heard the full story but assumed news of the impossible world had no reason to spread outside of the official guilds. "The Eclipse Gate. Gray, Lucy, Natsu and Erza travelled through and saw the world. Gray is trying to get it back… to get Ur back."

The Eclipse Gate. It was something she had studied long and hard in her years of solitude as she focussed on the lost magic. It had sounded even more impossible than Last Ages and there were so little pieces of text that it almost seemed more like a fairytale than a real creation. Her eyes narrowed in thought, continuing to pace. "That explains my magic faltering…" she commented, not wanting to go into more detail. Time felt like a fractured thing in her palm and every day she could feel her abilities weaken even though her magical energy stayed strong. "Something must have gone wrong," she observed.

Lyon shrugged, not sure of the details beyond what he was told. "They failed their mission to destroy Zeref," he explained. "Lucy had said that the world was a paradox because the Eclipse Gate was created by Zeref, and so the Eclipse Gate broke down," he said, choosing to omit the part where the entire world had crumbled apart and hundreds had been killed.

"That doesn't make sense…" Ultear whispered under her breath, thinking hard. "Time travel always has a chance of the same paradox, the Eclipse Gate should be made to withstand such a simple miscalculation…" she said, knowing that after years of mimicking Zeref she had nothing but respect for the dark lord, even if she also had other feelings towards him. "You don't seem to think it's a paradox either… You know that the world is real," she said, examining Lyon and realising there was more.

Lyon's eyes turned cold. "The Gray who came back through the Gate was from that world, not ours."

Ultear's steps stopped suddenly, her eyes wide. Every instinct, every drop of time magic flowing through her veins screamed in warning. This was beyond dangerous, this was terrifying. "Idiot…" she breathed in disbelief, feeling like she was staring at the end of the world. The feeling that had not left her since the Games, the foreboding in the pit of her stomach, suddenly it all made sense.

Lyon looked surprised, unable to read the reactions from the stranger he had known for so many years. She seemed to have disappeared into thought, her eyes wide and haunted. "The Eclipse Gate is being remade," he told her, knowing that he was overloading her with information but certain that she would be trying to pull on her own theories with half of the necessary facts. "He's determined that he is going to recreate the world that was beyond the Eclipse Gate, and what's more he has the princess Hisui on his side. I have no doubt that they can recreate the world, but we need your help to make sure that we can get to the world at the right time. If we arrive too late then it'll all be for nothing."

Ultear could barely hear, a thousand calculations already racing through her mind. She felt as if her heart would explode, every single cell in her body warning her that despair was coming. This conversation wasn't even supposed to be happening, she told herself, realising that she couldn't pull on a single thread of time in its current state. "I don't know if I can be of any help," she admitted. "But I will do everything to stop you and Gray from causing any more damage."

* * *

 **Hey Fairy Tail Fans!**

 **Thanks once again for reading, reviewing, following. I'm still pretty much blown away by the feedback haha!**

 **And I know some of you have been excited to see Lyon and Ultear, so here we are. Let's all take a moment to remember that in canon Ultear is currently an old woman. Yey she's OK!**

 **Oh! And I forgot to mention. Did anyone recognise Hazoula in the last chapter? He's the villain from my previous fanfic Perfect Contrast. Gray and Natsu have very good reason to hate him haha**

 **Man, things are getting confusing now... and I'm kind of partly running into this story blind. Any ideas/feedback/whatever please let me know!**


	6. Sun Village

_It was a warm day in a cold land. The familiar dusting of ice was finally beginning to melt under the rare summer sun, the villagers were rushing around gathering their groceries and making the most of the beautiful day. They chattered amongst themselves, whispering of the softest and lightest of pastimes, mentioning the promise of blooming flowers and the smiles on the faces of the children as they ran around and played, scooping the remaining soggy patches of snow in their hands and laughing as they threw them at each other. At least, most of the children played. Two young boys rested against the wall, watching the woman as she gathered her things and paid her friend._

 _The white-haired boy's eyes sparkled as he spoke, some promise of happiness still able to rest inside of him. He spoke of ambition, of the power of magic and the achievements that he could reach. It was a subject he could never tire of, knowing that one day he would finally surpass his master and be strong enough to conquer anything or anyone that stood in his way._

 _"I already told you, I don't care."_

 _Lyon head snapped back to his fellow student, trying once more to make sense of the dark-haired boy that had so suddenly been placed in his family. He had been happy with just him and Ur, he could have had that happiness for years without regret. Despite his jealousy and foreboding, he still had curiosity, still had an innocence that let him look at the new brother with a grudging interest. "Ur said she only agreed to teach you because you carry a darkness inside of you," he told him, looking back at the master as she finished her conversation._

 _Gray looked down to the fist in front of him, felt the energy flooding through his hands. There was anger, bitterness, a darkness that felt all too familiar. "After what happened, I'd be crazy not to hold darkness inside me," he said, his voice younger, higher-pitched but lacking the innocence that a seven-year-old should have._

 _He looked up, expecting to see Ur walking back from the stall. She was standing in front of him, her eyes as soft and kind as they had always been, the smallest hint of sadness resting in them. The world around them was collapsing, however. Her face was paling impossibly, cracks appearing across her delicate skin and reflecting the unnatural light into a thousand rainbows. He gasped, eyes widening as he watched her body crystallise before his eyes. Eyes of ice stared back at him holding the kindness that he had adored, fading into a hollow nightmare._

 _"Ur!" he screamed, running forwards and reaching out his hand. He ran, he ran and ran and ran but could get no closer, his hand desperately reaching towards her. He could hear his own voice, not the voice of a child, his legs growing longer and still unable to run past the eternal space between himself and his master._

 _The darkness crept in._

 _Her eyes softened and grew sadder, never once straying from his, silently pleading with her young student. "I will seal away your darkness, Gray…" she whispered, her voice splintering as her body began to fracture into a thousand sparkling pieces._

 _He kept running, tripping on his steps as he gasped for air. It didn't make sense when she said she would seal his darkness when she was inside of the shadows._

 _All he could do was run._

 _The darkness was suffocating, the magical energy seeping through his skin. The world smelt of death and decay, the ground beneath him sinking with every step as he lunged. The darkness closed in and he edged closer and closer._

 _And then he could feel it, felt the struggling light within the darkness. The shadows held more than his master. He could feel his parents were close by, feel their desperation as the curse enveloped them. He could hear their silence, feel their tears, smell their blood through the heavy musk of decay._

 _In one desperate last effort, he pushed himself forwards, a hollow scream coming from the pit of his stomach. His hands reached forwards, fingers outstretched to the bubble of death, brushing the magical energy with the tip of his fingertips, ready to become one with the darkness…_

He woke with a sudden gasp. His body propelled forwards, his eyes wide and desperately dragging air through his painful lungs. His body felt like lead, his mind reeling, trying to process the lines between reality and dream.

The cold air washed over him, surprisingly calming, desperately taking in every breath. Slowly he looked down to his hands, dug deep into the ground and surrounded with scorched earth. His eyes went even wider, realising that his nightmare had pulled on his secret power and looking quickly to his company. Somehow, despite the screams he was certain he must have unleashed, both the dragon slayer and the exceed were still snoring loudly.

His heart did not stop racing. The sweat did not stop. He put his hand to his head, feeling the dull ache of the Ice Maker reminding him that the dream was shared both in pain and memories. He had never had that conversation with Lyon and couldn't understand what darkness Ur was talking about, nor did he want to make sense of what had happened to his alter-ego to bring about such a warning. He felt sickened, a bitter taste left in his mouth as the contradictory curse raced through his mind. His fingers dug deeper into the earth, twisting and pulling the dirt and burying the black marks that his fire magic had left in his panic-stricken state, trying to calm his breathing.

He would not sleep any more that night.

The rising sun was surprisingly beautiful. There was something comforting about watching the sun rise in an unfamiliar world, seeing the trees and mountains just as they should have been regardless of the lives lost or gained through the actions of one strange man. Try as he might he couldn't see how one man could change the world so drastically, how one man had caused such destruction and pain, how one man had singlehandedly created and destroyed worlds.

And yet, that was exactly what trying to do.

Gray could not look at Natsu as he heard him rose, unwilling to stare back and see the dragon slayer that should not have existed. The impossible man from an impossible world, a world that had the nerve to call his own impossible. The longer he stayed the harder it was to come to terms with the fact that he had no home to return to and that every step he took was to repair a fractured reality.

Little did he know, sitting staring into the void, he looked so very like Gray that Natsu for a moment could forget his concerns and take a seat beside him, offering a wide smile. "We're not far, right?" Natsu asked.

Gray thought for a moment and shook his head. Just a year and then the world would finally be put right once more. "No, not far at all."

The travelling had already been long and tiring and there was still some left to go. The land unveiled itself as a wide and vast canvas as they stretched to the borders of Bosco, the trees beginning to slip away into wide empty expanses and the taste of a nearby desert floating through the warming air. It was the peak of summer and even Natsu was keen to stay in the shade of trees and as far from the wide deserts as possible, though he refused point blank to take the train. Walking did at least give them the benefit of being able to ask for directions, since the three had no idea of the exact location of the Sun Village. Some of the villagers or travellers that they met along the way gave vague descriptions and pointed west, but the majority of people shook their heads and admitted it was somewhere that they had never heard of before. There were a few that had even laughed or questioned whether the village even existed.

"It must exist, right?" Natsu asked as they edged closer. There wasn't much of Fiore actually left before they turned into a completely new country and he wasn't certain that he was ready to be crossing borders to reach one member of a dark guild, even if he did use Gray's father's magic.

"I've heard of it before…" Gray murmured under his breath.

"Huh?!" Natsu asked, staring back at him and realising he had been mostly silent through the entire journey. That had at least explained how they had managed to walk such a long distance without being interrupted with violence. "Then why didn't you say?"

Gray shrugged his shoulders, remembering the train ride into Fiore as he and his family escaped their desolate country. Things had been difficult for immigrants then; the country was overflowing with people and resources had been growing more and more strained with every passing year. Isvan and Fiore had always been allies at face value, but Brago had stood between their countries and there were thousands at the time running from the Sudden Death and Fiore had been less than welcoming to their eastern neighbours. He remembered being a young boy, tucked under his father's arm in the dark cargo carriage and listening as one of their fellow passengers described the lay of the land. A warm world, a rich world, filled with guilds and treasures beyond measure. Even as a boy he had known that the fairy stories weren't real, but they had captured his imagination all the same. He gave a small smile as he remembered, "Because they also said that the village was inhabited by giants."

"Do you think that we'll see a giant, Natsu?" Happy asked, curiously looking up at the dragon slayer.

"Hm…" Natsu thought for a moment before conjuring a wide grin. "I hope so! I haven't fought a giant before!"

"We're not supposed to be fighting the villagers, Natsu…." the small cat had to remind him.

Natsu stopped in his tracks suddenly. He paused, receiving glances from both the ice maker and from the cat as he focussed on his sense of smell. "It must be close by," he told them both, looking to Gray as he confirmed "I can smell your old man. He smells even worse than you." In the frozen dark guild it had been hard to track any kind of scent but everything seemed to have a hint of Gray's scent. Now, in the vast expanse and with the new knowledge, he could easily tell the two ice wielders apart.

" _Thanks,_ " Gray replied sarcastically, following the dragon slayer's nose and beginning to walk towards the mysterious village. His mind continued to spiral in circles, wondering what he had truly seen in the valley, the echoes of his father's memory scattered through broken memories. It seemed unbelievable, impossible, and every time that he tried to make sense of it he could either feel the growing cold or the growing ache from the ice maker inside of him. It was a dangerous subject but he physically couldn't keep himself from stepping closer, desperate to find his father even if it would break his hold on the ice maker's mind.

Even as they disappeared back into the forests they could see brilliant ice gleaming from above them. It was inescapable. The beams of bright summer sunlight bounded around the entire forest as they refracted through the huge crystal shards that burst through the horizon. It was overwhelming and as they stepped forwards, keeping their footsteps steady as the floor turned to ice beneath them. Happy eventually gave up, choosing instead to fly and perch himself on Natsu's shoulders as he seemed far more steady against the slippery floor.

"Everything is so big…" the small cat said, shivering.

Natsu looked up. "Uh, Gray…? I think that you were right about the giant thing…"

They stared upwards at the huge frozen faces, feeling that they were on the edge of fantasy. Natsu started to step forwards towards the nearest unnaturally large figure, knocking against the ice and hearing the echo across the silent land. "Woah…" the dragon slayer hummed, feeling just how solid the frozen structures were. It seemed impossible to think that these were real people, but even more impossible to think that ice could have sculpted something so lifelike. He pulled his arm back, creating a ball of flames at the end of his fist as he swung forwards. As expected, the strange ice once again didn't even shudder under the might of his dragon slayer magic. He huffed irritated, not only by his own failure but knowing that the responsibility would turn to the Ice Maker. "Can you melt it?" he asked.

Gray looked in despair at the huge figure in front of him. It was more magical ice than he'd ever seen in his lifetime just from this one sculpture, and there was an entire village filled with these creatures. He swallowed awkwardly. "I…" he said, knowing that even if he was at full strength it would take weeks to release the entire village, and he didn't want to admit that while his fire was far stronger than his ice moulding he would no doubt take even longer. What was worse, it wouldn't actually melt the ice at all and he would be left with mountains of misplaced magic. "I can't melt it…" he clarified to Natsu. "But I can mould it. This amount of ice, however…" he grimaced at the very thought, reluctant to admit his weakness.

"It is quite a feat, isn't it, hoohoo?"

The three turned quickly, somehow still stable even on the slippery ice as they glanced to the dark wizards. The irritating voice had already confirmed that they would see the irritating round man twisting his moustache in his hand, but Hazoula's appearance was clearly shadowed by the menacing looking man standing beside him. Thick armour glinted in the summer sun but no warmth came from the huge Slayer, his eyes narrowing towards the fire wielders on the other side of his battlefield, staring straight into eyes that he had thought had closed for the last time, reflecting the mutual false memories.

"Gray, that's your…" Natsu whispered.

Gray didn't answer. His eyes froze, refusing to give into raging emotions that lay behind them.

"I told you, didn't I? Hoohoo, I told you that they would come here," the round man bounded between each of his feet looking proud of his quick-thinking betrayal, once again glad that the Devil Slayer behind him hadn't decided to freeze him upon sight. He knew that with his entire guild encased with ice he had to make new allies quickly and in his traitorous nature he had ran straight to the man who had destroyed his last home. "I should bring the others here, hoohoo, yes, yes?"

"You bastard!" Natsu called, taking an angry step forwards and cursing himself for so easily trusting the words of the dark wizard. Even if they had reached their true goal, a dark guild member of Tartarus who also happened to take the form of Gray's father, they had done so walking straight towards Hazoula's lies and deceit after they had saved him from freezing to death.

Silver glanced over to the two young boys, remembering every vision that he had seen from the stands of the Grand Magical Games. It had only been a very short while since he'd heard his son was alive, since he had seen his face and felt his own heart bursting with pride seeing him conquer the memory maker. He still was partly in disbelief, and knew he had so much that he still wanted to achieve before he could have ever thought about meeting him once more, but staring at him now he knew that this was a family reunion that he couldn't avoid. "I was told that you are searching for Tarturus…" he spoke to them both, his voice low and booming. He lifted his hand, the cold magic twisting through his fingertips and pulling the iced floor high around him. "Consider this a friendly warning. Give up your search now."

Gray's eyes flashed suddenly, seeing the familiar spell weave through the air. "Natsu! Happy!" he called quickly as he jumped back, narrowly avoiding the huge jagged rocks that sprouted from the ground, cursing his lack of flaming wings.

Happy lifted Natsu quickly, flapping his wings desperately as they stared at the cold sharp blades where their feet were before. "Something tells me this won't be such a 'friendly' warning…" Happy said quietly, trying to find somewhere to put the dragon slayer back down.

Natsu had to agree, staring at the elder man and trying to judge his reactions. It was the scent that he had picked up before, like Gray's but somehow in a way that made every cell in his body want to rebel and attack. Now it seemed impossible that he could have confused the two kinds of ice, knowing that Gray's magic would never make him so uneasy, so very angry. It didn't make sense that he would feel so instinctively violent to a stranger, even if it was a stranger was incredibly similar to Gray, but the ice magic around him was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. "We're not giving up until we get answers!" he shouted back at Silver. "Even if it means taking down every dark guild in Fiore, we won't give up!" he said, knowing he was speaking more for himself than Gray when Gray's main target was already standing in front of them.

"If they want to see the others, we should bring the others, hoohoo?"

Silver's eyes narrowed in the exact same irritated expression Gray would pull when Natsu was making some ridiculous claim. His eyes never left his son's, trying to read his impassive gaze. He didn't want Hazoula to bring the others. He didn't want to fight at all, but knowing that he and his son were on opposite sides of an erupting war he knew that this day would come regardless. If Hazoula brought the others, then he would bring Keyes and with the necromancer was at least the option of defeat and passing his darkness away from this world. He nodded sharply, not even looking at Hazoula as he ordered the minion "Go." At least it would be one less person to be an audience to the father-son reunion.

"Natsu, Happy, stop him!" Gray called out as Hazoula bounded away surprisingly quickly, knowing that they would have struggled to take advantage over the devil slayer and the round man even without additional support.

Natsu looked back at Gray blankly. It had been the closest thing to a sentence the ice maker had managed to construct since seeing his father and just like Silver, Natsu was finding it impossible to register what emotions were going on behind his cold, distant eyes. "You sure you can handle him?" he asked, knowing that this may have been one of those battles that only the worst equipped could handle, but it was one of those moments that would be impossible to interfere with.

Gray nodded sharply, his eyes pinned on his father. He'd been trained nearly all his life for this moment. He could feel the ice magic twisting around his hands but the red hot heat of fire blazed inside of his chest, ready to take advantage of all of Silver's strengths and weaknesses. He could almost feel his mother's warming smile, her cackling laughter and her 'I told you so's. "Only I can," he said, adrenaline pumping through his system in anticipation. "Stop him. We can't take on their entire guild alone."

Natsu nodded firmly and Happy quickly took up the command, spiralling through the air and straight towards the round man's desperate flee.

* * *

 **So I've had a bit of a writing binge and have finally caught up a few more chapters here! Aaaaand hit gridlock. Hopefully since I've got a bit more of a headstart now there shouldn't be so much of a gap between chapters :)**

 **I have had to do so much 'research' for this and the Silver chapters, which is where the dream sequence came from. Who will seal Gray's darkness this time...? You'll see a few direct quotes coming up too!**

 **Aside; Has anyone read the latest manga? I'm-I'm just... I... am so ready to give up on FT now. Just... what?**


	7. Ice

The air hummed with the twisting ice magic from both fierce casters. Blade after blade of thick crystal formed, smashing through frozen buildings and creating a frozen devastation so heavy the air began to turn to snow.

 _"Amazing…_ " Silver had to admit, impressed as he once again dodged one of the rocks that Gray had catapulted through the air towards him. "You are quick," he assessed. He'd fought thousands of wizards before and never before had any of them been able to weigh his weaknesses and strengths with the careless speed that Gray was exhibiting. The Ice Maker hadn't even bothered to use his own ice, not one drop of his own magical creation entering the battlefield and giving Silver any hint of advantage. What was more, as soon as the first building came tumbling down, the rocks and debris had become Gray's new weaponry, using Silver's twisted curse to create the artillery canons. He had expected no less than a victory from his own son, but had been completely overwhelmed by just how instinctive his weapon choice had been, wondering how he was somehow so prepared.

Gray, however, did not feel in control. His heart was racing so fast that he felt as if it would burst at any moment. And the _pain_. Inside of him Ice and Fire were waging a war, twisting between each other and trying to accomplish a resounding victory in the face of their father. "Who are you really?" he hissed, the only words that he could bring himself to say through the erupting headache, the Fire Maker desperately trying to regain control while keeping the ice magic throwing attacks.

"Don't you recognise me?" Silver asked, his feet once again landing squarely on the floor as he put his hands on his sides, standing as tall and proud as ever and ignoring as the armour fell around him. His son was beating him and from that he could feel nothing but pride, but this battle was not over.

Gray twisted his hands around each other as he was trained to do, feeling the Ice Maker inside of him leading his muscle memory through the familiar spells. "I recognise your face, your voice, your magic. But who are _you_?!" he screamed out, slamming his fist into his hands and pushing them out in front of him, letting the devil slayer's magic twist through his own imagination and create a huge geyser of ice around the elder mage.

Silver smirked, pushing his arms in front of himself and bracing the impact. The huge creation shattered in front of him, his eyes sparkling as he explained yet again. "Ice has no effect on me, even my own." But he blinked, seeing the ice maker in front of him suddenly fade into crystal and disappear in the wind. "A decoy?!"

"Answer my question!" came the voice from behind him, the devil slayer barely able to turn quick enough to see Gray's fist land straight into his face.

Silver staggered backwards, having to dive time and time again out of magical assaults. Gray was using close quarters combat now, unable to make a mark against him but able to keep him on the defensive as the iced swords in his hands swooped down time and time again. Although they were ice and the spells would leave no effect on him, he knew that the fists behind them were real and the power he held in the physical contact alone was worth avoiding. "I am your father," he said between flurries and dodging.

Gray's eyes flashed widely, a horrified expression resting in them. The pain in his head was suddenly agony and he was aware that his attacks were now wild thrashings. He couldn't see, his eyes growing blurry in tears of pain, his heart racing even faster. He screamed, a hollow scream that sounded nothing like his own voice as he lunged forwards. His attack overshot, the devil slayer seeing his confusion and taking advantage as he struck him hard in the abs. Another jab sent his head reeling backwards, his entire body falling back into the frozen wasteland.

Silver stood over him, watching the horror across Gray's face at just his simple words. He was being beaten today, there was no doubt about that, and all that remained was being able to play the villain. And so he laughed. He laughed because he wanted to cry. He wanted to be able to pick up his son and tell him that he would be alright, that he was sorry for the years of bloodshed and the waking nightmare he had had to endure. He wanted to tell him that he would one day be back with Mika, that he prayed for the day when the three could be together again, but that he was patient enough to let his son live. But he had to play the villain. He had to laugh. This had, after all, been a friendly warning.

"Or rather, this is your father's body," Silver went on to say, hoping that his eyes could flicker demonically instead of showing his true unhappiness. "Just like all of Tartarus, we are all demons of the Books of Zeref. Sometimes being in demon form can be inconvenient. Luckily I just happened upon this body, but now I can see it is destiny. We are destined to fight, me in this body, you… disciple of Ur. Ur who defeated me. Or have you forgotten, me, _Deliora_?"

Gray staggered to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. The name meant nothing to him and the pain in his head couldn't possibly be any worse even at the cursed name. "You're talking a load of crap, old man…"

"You still don't believe me?" Silver questioned, wondering what part of his spectacle could possibly have fallen down. Perhaps it was just as unbelievable as being alive, the entire experience overwhelming for the young man. He refused to back down, refused to be anything but the villain for his son so that he could finally overcome the darkness inside of him. "I will defeat you. And when I'm done with you I will defeat Lyon. And then I will take on every last one of your comrades. Do you know why I have taken on Ice Devil Slayer Magic? Because Ur's disciples can only use ice!" he laughed, his entire body emanating with his twisted magical power.

The iced sword reappeared in left Gray's hand. "Is that so?" he said, his eyes glistening as the fire finally erupted onto his right hand, an identical sword appearing in a beautiful curved flame and hissing as he crossed the fire and ice weaponry against one another. "I guess it's a good thing I'm not Ur's disciple, isn't it?"

Silver took a staggered step back. He had never before seen both ice and fire maker magic used by the same user, and he had already experienced the level of skill that Gray had used to twist the ice to his will. While his previous attacks had been affective to varying degrees, fire would always ultimately be the devil slayer's weakness. It seemed impossible that Gray had this hidden strength the entire time that they had been fighting when he had been so quick to play on against his other weaknesses. "What…?" Silver gasped, but before he could say another word the maker wizard had leapt forwards, repeating the same attacks as before which Silver now dodged with urgency. Every time the familiar cool of the ice blade came easily close to him, the fire was moments away. He gasped in pain as the first slice burned through his skin, trying to twist the ice around him and shield himself the same way that Gray had done.

Gray screamed through his pain. Both of his elemental swords came crashing down through his father's shield, his eyes blazing in anger and fear and a thousand other emotions as the devil ice hissed and melted under his flames and fractured and splintered beneath his ice. His breathing was heavy, like a trapped wild animal, his entire body twisted in the panic and agony. "You're not possessed…" he breathed, only stopping his assault to catch his breath and try and subside some of the darkness twisting through his body. "I know what possession feels like. You have no demon inside of you. You're my old man."

The devil slayer watched his shield disintegrate, knowing that he was completely powerless to the young man in front of him, though now he couldn't help but wonder who this was. "You're not…?" he looked at Gray in shock, realising that now paternal motives had all completely shifted. He had always wanted to save his son from himself, but hadn't expected this battle to be so literal. Something in his eyes, something in his expression, meant that he knew that this was his son, with just as much certainly as when he had seen the man fighting in the games. The two just didn't seem to be the same person. So reluctantly, he answered him. "I was. There is a necromancer in Tartarus. He has been animating me… this body… your father… me… for ten long years…" he explained.

Gray's eyes flashed open wider. His father was dead. Suddenly he could see it again, suddenly the image of the darkness sweeping over the games, the image of his mother and father standing in the heart of the contradictory curse, merged with the flashes of memories that the ice maker could no longer able to hold back. Memories of a broken city and his loved ones in piles of bloody snow. And he couldn't take it anymore.

In a moment, Gray had fallen to his knees. His head was in his hands, the ice and fire swords both twisted into nothingness and only the pain existed. The grief, the battle, the adrenaline, the fear, the survival, the sights and sounds and colours and ice… it meant nothing against the twisting knife inside of his head. Beyond fire and ice, beyond earth and eclipse, Gray could not stand in his own place. Every world was filled with devastation; every world was filled with death and betrayal and the darkness inside of him clutched his souls as they both tried desperately to push the other into taking the brutal force of the world. Neither Gray wanted to take responsibility for the twisted emotions that he could feel, neither Gray could be accountable for the pain in his chest and the tears that rolled down his face, both watched in horror at the doubled memories of death and his own body was left with nothing but screams.

Silver watched in torment as his son could only scream. He stepped forwards, knowing the memories of the sweet boy that he would have given his life to all clung to his own soul the same way that they tore at Gray. He could remember holding Gray and Mika, remember the softness of their smiles, remembered the grief of every day of his living death as he thought with certainty that they were dead. Death was welcoming, death was his only goal now, waiting for what seemed like an eternity for his final respite. Looking at his son now, he knew that the feeling may have been more than mutual.

Soon Hazoula would be back with the rest of the guild. Soon he would be found standing in front of his son, soon there would be questions why he hadn't killed him while he was defenceless and screaming. Hesitantly, the devil slayer pulled on magic and created his own huge sword. Seeing the torment across Gray's face, this would be a mercy.

"Don't hurt him!" said the girl.

The devil slayer stopped. He shouldn't have stopped, not if he was truly taking his position as the Tartarus guild member to heart, but girl's voice surprised him so much even through the hoarse cries of his son that he couldn't help but turn around and see. The woman before him, if you could call her a woman yet, looked small in all ways and it almost seemed laughable that she would be threatening such a huge and dominating figure as the devil slayer. He recognised her, however, and knew that this was yet another slayer. "And what if I do?" he chuckled under his breath, taunting her.

Wendy sucked in the air around her, her feet pushing hard into the ground to brace herself for the huge roar that she would unleash. She was supposed to be staying out of danger so that she could tend to Carla while the exceed was still unable to focus. She was supposed to be staying close to Erza and Lucy and making sure that they could find where Natsu and Gray had gone to. She was definitely not supposed to be getting involved with the dark guild. There was more than one demon roaming the ground here, however, and she had quickly become separated from all but her exceed, and in her desperation to regroup with the others she had stumbled across the devil slayer and Gray. At least, some version of Gray. Pouring all her confusion and terror and protectiveness into her magic, she unleashed her roar towards the devil slayer, sending him flying far from his son.

The small girl ran forwards, her thoughts instinctively resting with healing rather than with attack as she went straight to Gray's side, staring up at him and trying to make him look into her eyes. She didn't understand what was happening to him or where the flaming sword had come from, but she could hear his screams and saw his agony. "Gray…. Gray tell me what's wrong…" she whispered, trying to put her tiny hands in front of him and conjuring all of the bright white energy that she could.

Nervously, Carla kept her eyes on where Wendy had thrown the devil slayer, her fur bristling with fear as she expected the counter-attack. "You should be more careful, Wendy," she pointed out to her, knowing that she should be watching out for the enemy herself and not relying on the exceed to do so.

"I couldn't let him hurt Gray!" she cried out, despair starting to set in as her magic seemed to be soaking into his battle wounds but doing nothing to alleviate the agony in his eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with him…"

"He was using fire magic…" Carla pointed out, a frown rested upon her crisp white fur. "Are you sure that you can trust him?" she asked, remembering the stories that had been flying around the guild of the fiery traitor from another world.

"I don't care," Wendy shook her head. She gasped suddenly, seeing the maker wizard's eyes were rolling back and she quickly tried to grab him, holding him in his arms for only a second before his weight became too much and he fell back onto the ground, finally in silence. "Gray-san!" she yelled out, feeling even more helpless.

Carla kept her eyes on the far battlefield, seeing no movements from the rubble. She knew that Wendy would not have been strong enough to take out the devil slayer with a single attack, not even in his weakened form, but didn't dare to say this to the young dragon slayer. The devil slayer made no movements further and it could only be assumed that he had escaped to lick his wounds and no doubt join back with the dark guild. This would not be the last battle against Silver Fullbuster.

* * *

Hazoula was surprisingly quick and the irritating wizard seemed to know these parts far better than the pink-haired dragon slayer. It didn't take long for him to lose sight of him, even with Happy able to fly through the air at full speed. The dark wizard also had the power to create shadow demons, twisting dumb black figures of all shapes and sizes that clawed and scratched at the exceeds wings. While Happy was able to dodge and dive out of the majority of these, the dragon slayer he was carrying blowing the majority of them out of the way before they could even get close, one with particularly sharp claws lurked in the overhanging trees.

With one well-timed swipe the claws tore straight through Happy's aera magic. The tiny cat squealed out in shock as the magic disappeared around him, clutching onto the dragon slayer's back tightly as they began to fall back down to the ground at frightening speed. "Happy!" his companion called, pulling the cat from his back and into his arms as they both rolled onto the ground with a shuddering bang and a cloud of smoke.

The figures shivered uneasily as the debris fell around them. From the huge explosion of sound the forest had suddenly turned to silence. Slowly, every muscle aching, Natsu began to lift himself up, looking down at the exceed tucked in his arms. "Happy… are you ok?" he asked carefully, trying to see if any more of the dark figures had twisted between the dust clouds.

Happy buried himself deeper against Natsu's chest. "I'm ok… I'm sorry Natsu… are you OK?"

Natsu gave the cat a half grin. It wasn't every day that he found himself hurtling through the air with nothing to brace his impact and despite the pain of the hard ground it had been exciting. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault," he said, pulling himself onto his shaking legs as the dust began to settle and they could once again see the land in front of them. "He's gonna pay for this," he said, gripping his fist as tightly as possible as a ball of flames appeared. No one threatened his guild, no one threatened his friends, but above everything else _no one_ hurt Happy and got away with it.

Happy opened his eyes wider now, able to see the larger landscape as he pulled himself down from Natsu's arms and back onto his feet. "Where did they all go…?" he asked, looking back at Natsu and hoping that his senses were better than his.

Natsu glared into the distance. He had been losing track of Hazoula and his shadowed creations before the sudden attack and now he wasn't even certain which way they had been or come from. Things looked different from the sky and the crash had made him dizzier than he would have liked to admit. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath, choosing a direction and beginning to walk.

He couldn't admit that he had lost track of the round man. He couldn't bear the thought that right now. Gray was fighting against what was possibly one of his most difficult enemies while all he had needed to do was take down one irritating man, and he had failed. It felt like twice the defeat. This entire journey had seemed like every step that he had taken, Gray had taken the leap forwards while the dragon slayer had been pushed several back. With every moment of victory and failure the gap between the slayer and maker seemed to stretch wider and Natsu wasn't so oblivious to the change in the ice maker, wondering just what had happened to his fading friend. To add insult to injury, for every step Gray was taking in his own journey, Natsu knew they should have been things that he was skilled at. Gray was fighting against an ice wielder, something that Natsu would have been the most accomplished at with his fire magic and years of training against Gray. Somehow, he couldn't even melt the smallest slab of ice.

His fist stayed flaming, the crackling fire the only sound amongst their footsteps. It was the ice that was burning through his mind, the ice that was twisting through his last nerve and taunting him. He could see a huge blue crystal in front of him, taunting him and his inability to shatter through the strange new magic. Taunting his inability to find the round man and stop the dark guild attacking his friends. His flaming fist flew forwards, knowing that it would be powerless against the blue crystals but very very much needing to hit something.

"Natsu, I don't think that's ice…"

The dragon slayer looked up at the last second, realising that the cat had been correct. The crystal was cracking under his flaming fists, the sound echoing through the dusty clearing as chip by chip the lines ran through the huge lacrima crystal. He took a staggered back, trying to work out why there had been one of the rare magical crystals lying in the middle of nowhere. It was unbelievably huge, twisted through the air and easily rivalling the iced structure of the frozen dark guild but the more it began to shatter the more the raw energy twisted through the air. He took another staggered step back as huge chunks began to fall, knowing that Happy could not fly them to safety if one of the huge shards crashed upon them.

In an instant, the shard splintered into a million dazzling lights and disappeared into magical energy.

In the centre, an armoured figure stood tall. The summer sun reflected no light from the jet-black metal that hung around her legs and covered her breasts, but glittered in her dangerously powerful eyes. She stood still for a moment, the wind blowing back her cropped scarlet hair, looking over each and every one of the glittering remains of her lacrima prison before finally resting her gaze upon the dragon slayer and the exceed.

Her eyes narrowed. With all the speed that they would have expected from the beautiful warrior, she spun the oversized lance in her hand, ripping it out of the ground and twisting it into a threatening poise straight towards the unlikely pair. " _Demon,"_ the redhead hissed in recognition.

* * *

 **I really _really_ enjoyed this chapter. Both writing it and reading it. I hope you like it too!**

 **So competition time!  
Can you guess who the woman in the crystal is? Brownie points if you can tell what she's talking about! I promise I will give a shout-out to everyone who guesses correctly. Competition ends 07/11 9PM GMT Time! Haha!**

 **Trein: Thank you for your review of the last chapter! To answer your question, a bit of both! Gray knows Ultear from Eclipse, but he was also shown Ultear by Ice-Gray. Hopefully I can go into more detail later since their relationship is pretty interesting in Eclipse world!**


	8. Wake Up

Wendy looked back to the unconscious man, rocking on her knees. It had already been a few hours since the battle between Silver and Gray and he was still lying in front of her. The tiny girl had tried to drag him somewhere better than the middle of the village, but this seemed to be one of the few places around that was not covered in ice and when she touched his skin she could already feel it was incredibly cold, despite the fact he was still wearing clothing. Although she knew he could handle his element, she didn't want the risk when he was already vulnerable and she found herself shivering as she knelt beside him even without an icy floor. Instinctively, she wanted to try her healing magic again but every time she did so Carla gave her a scolding look. It would be a waste of energy when she had tried and failed so many times before and she knew that she would need to conserve her strength in case she did find some way to help him. He didn't seem to be suffering at least, not anymore, but she wondered what nightmares could be haunting the maker wizard and if they were anything like the horrors she had racing through her own mind.

"What should we do…?" Wendy's voice was shaking as she looked back at her feline, no doubt having asked this question a hundred times before already. It was rare for her magic to have no effect on those obviously in pain and when it didn't she felt so small and powerless that she couldn't hold back her panic.

"We are doing all we can do, child," Carla reminded Wendy sternly. "There is nothing more we can do but wait until he wakes."

As if summoned by Carla's words, the dark-haired man stirred. Wendy gasped, leaning forwards. All of Carla's previous warnings seemed pointless now as she rushed forwards, her eyes lighting up as she saw his finally open. "Gray-san! Are you alright?"

He pulled himself up carefully, the sunlight feeling as if it would blind him. He couldn't stand to be on his back, not for another moment, but as he rose back into a sitting position he could feel his body surprisingly easily giving into his commands. He had been unconscious, he had remembered the pounding in his head, the feeling that every cell in his body would explode, and yet somehow he felt fine. Fine, except for a strangely warm feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach. And his eyes grew wider.

"G-Gray-san?" Wendy asked cautiously, still not receiving an answer, blinking as her eyes once again ran over him and saw no signs of injury.

He cursed internally. He was not supposed to be fine, he was not supposed to be here at all. Desperately he clutched at half-remembered images through the haze of fire and ice, trying to pull reality from the blissful dreamlike state he had been so eager to disappear into. He remembered seeing an image of his father, remembered hearing about his living death, remembered being dragged by the fire back into the painful world…

He glanced back at Wendy, realising that he still hadn't spoken. A soft smile rested on his face, trying so very hard to calm her nerves when he could barely calm his own. "I'm fine, Wendy. Thank you," he said, gratefully realising that she must have repaired some of the damage that his father had inflicted. While he was clearly winning the majority of the battle, it had still taken its toll on him but now his body was feeling fighting fit once more. He suddenly felt the urge to pull off his shirt and assess any new scars, his hands already tackling the stifling material he had been bound to for too long.

She stared back at him, searching deep into his eyes and seeing that there was something different there. "Gray-san… the fire…" she whispered.

He paused, and turned away. The fire was already warming inside of him, preparing itself to take over once more, once this tragedy was yet another unpleasant but distant memory. It had made sense that the Ice Maker had been the one to pull himself out of the wreckage of his life, as this Gray had had far more experience with tragedy than the Eclipse Gray, and he was unfortunately the strongest soul for now. It wouldn't last long, he knew, but now Wendy had seen the break in his façade he feared for her safety. He couldn't bear to look at her knowing there was no explanation that wouldn't fill her with heartache. She was his nakama, his Wendy, and he wanted desperately to find a way to protect her from his betrayal.

Wendy reached out, putting a hand on his arm gently. She wanted to trust him, wanted to believe in him, and something was in his eyes that she was certain she hadn't seen for some time. "I was afraid. You were screaming and I couldn't help you. And that man-your father…? But then he said he was Deliora…?"

Gray hissed in a sharp intake of breath. The words that she said didn't make his head ache the same way that it had done while his counterpart was in control, but there was still a very real pain that came from them. "Just how much were you watching?"

"I-I'm sorry!" the girl said, a flustered blush across her cheeks as she suddenly backed away. "I heard you fighting and I was going to come and help you but then he said that he was your father and I didn't want to-to interrupt. But then you started screaming and there was fire and-and-…"

"Wendy…" Carla tried to calm her, putting a hand on her arm carefully.

Wendy took in a big gulp of air, finding that her element calmed her even more than a simple intake of oxygen ever could. It gave her strength, the strength to look up to her friend and ask "That wasn't you, was it?"

Gray looked surprised. He was certain he should have felt afraid, felt as if the entire world was shattering and his entire path was slipping from beneath him, but honestly all he could feel was pride. Wendy had once again proven that she was more than just the smallest dragon slayer. "No, it wasn't," he admitted, knowing that it took real observation for her to not only realise the fire was a different person but also that he had swapped back into her friend in the meantime.

He pulled his legs up, resting his arms against his knees and considering the position that he was in. He was walking a dangerous path and he knew now that while he once may have had the power to stop it, his options were quickly slipping through his fingers. "It was Gray from the Eclipse World…" he admitted to her, knowing that even if it wasn't right to bring her into his mess, she was already staring at his destruction and in true Fairy Tail manner she wouldn't stop until she had saved him. "I was letting him control me."

Wendy and Carla's eyes both went wide. Wendy thought back to every time that he had seen his friend since the gate had collapsed, since the end of the games. Every time that she had noticed something was very _wrong_ and but could never pinpoint exactly what it was. "Why would you… let him take over you?"

He thought very carefully about the question, knowing there was the answer that he wanted to believe and then there was the truth. The truth was reflected inside, the feeling of warmth in the pit of his stomach that simply didn't want to take on a painful world. The Eclipse Gray was a coward, but right now he felt like one too, hiding in the deepest corners of his mind while his alter-ego fought. And then there was the answer that he fought for, the answer that he wanted to believe; he wanted Fire Gray to succeed. He wanted his childhood to be repaired, the thousands of lives to be saved, and he knew that there would be roads that he simply could not take while still caring so deeply for this world. He wasn't skilled enough to play the role of a traitor.

He explained this to Wendy in halting words, even his own hidden fears, even his own weaknesses: He had nothing to hide from his nakama. He repeated time and time again that he wanted no harm to come to Fairy Tail, or anyone else, and that he would do everything within his power to stop the Fire Maker from harming any of his loved ones. He wanted to show her every side of the Fire Maker, both the temptation that had drawn him to his power and determination, and the morally corrupt lengths that he would go to protect his own world. Gray knew that if she decided to take him down right now then he would bow his head and admit defeat. A small part of him wanted her to stop him.

"I can feel him," the Ice Maker said, realising the words as he spoke them out loud. "I can feel he's close and growing more powerful every day. I don't think even if I wanted to I'd be able to hold him back…" he said, knowing that part of that was due to his own wavering determination. He may have been stronger than the Fire Maker right now, but he was still reeling from his own experience of the Eclipse Gate and every time the memories made his counterpart's head ache he felt himself fading.

"Everyone in the guild knows," she said, her words soft and cautious as she spoke, knowing that in a moment he could turn back into the stranger. "At least, they all know that there's something wrong. They don't know what, but... we all miss you, Gray. We want you to come back…" she said, suddenly reaching out and wrapping her arms around his waist.

He felt colder at her touch, surprised by the sudden affection. It made every part of him tense, made him feel as if his heart was going to be ripped out by her kindness. He had to admit, he missed them too. Gently he put his hand on her head, brushing back her silken black hair and accepting the rare moment of softness. He wanted to apologise to her, to let her know that he would come back for her, but the words wouldn't come.

"Wendy…"

She froze. It was the same voice that had been speaking to her so softly, but something in the tone told her that it was instantly devoid of the cold kindness that she was accustomed to. She was holding onto the stranger. She scrambled backwards, staring back and seeing the eyes were now filled with an uncomfortable warmth. "You… Give him back!"

The Fire Maker looked back at the dragon slayer, realising that Wendy had once again recognised him for his true self. "I can't do that," he told her simply with a shrug. He knew that she was a formidable enemy from his own world, all of Pixie Wing were supposedly his enemy despite his last actions against Fairy Tail. "He has given me control again."

Wendy shook her head, not wanting to believe it. Even if Gray had slipped back away into the fire, she couldn't accept that he would leave without even saying goodbye. She could feel drops of tears brewing in the corners of her eyes, desperately trying to shake them away. "Why are you doing this? Why can't you leave us alone and go back to your own world?" she asked.

Gray sighed, knowing that he had felt the softness in his counterpart's heart as he looked at the small girl. She had obviously meant a lot to him, and it was clear to see why. Gently he put a hand on her shoulder, his voice calming as he told her "I know that it's easy to think of me as the villain, but I am not your enemy. I am standing in front of you because right now I have no world to go back to. All I'm trying to do is to go home, and to make sure that the Fairy Tail and Pixie Wing of my world are safe when I do so, do you understand?"

"I-I think so…" Wendy said slowly, desperately wanting to believe him. The Ice Maker had told him that he was allowing this man to continue his quest, so he couldn't have been all bad, could he? She looked at Carla, asking the silent question back to the exceed.

Carla's fur bristled, glaring at the imposter.

Gray sighed, knowing that he could never truly mimic the trust that Wendy had for her friend, nor could he reasonably promise that she would one day get to see him again. Even his deceitful skills would never convince this dragon slayer. "This goes further than us, Wendy. I don't know much about this reality, but even I can see that this is an empty world. There are so many lives that are not here. Lives we _both_ want to save."

"But in your world… Fairy Tail…" Wendy shuddered, remembering the terrifying story from the celestial writer.

"I know, Wendy, I know. I'm still Fairy Tail," he said, flinching at the unpleasant flashbacks of reaching into the darkness and seeing the life draining before his eyes. His shirt had been opened by the Ice Maker but he knew that at least he could now see the guildmark that still rested on his chest, feel the dark ink through his fingertips and drawing its strength. "It's my home, my family, my nakama, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that they are all safe. I have a plan to recover them all, to move the eclipse gate back to before the curse hit Crocus, before your world ever interfered with mine. But to do so means stopping Natsu, Erza, Lucy and Happy. You understand why it has to be me. Why your Gray cannot do this."

Wendy's eyes grew wider. "If you just talked to them, if you just let them know what your plan was I'm sure that they would understand. You don't need to hurt anyone, you don't need to use this Eclipse version… if you… if Gray could just talk to them then I'm sure he could convince them to understand…" she said, her heart racing in desperation and hoping that if she looked back at the fire maker for long enough she would see the ice back in his eyes. "Please, _please_ …"

He shook his head quickly and confidently, not wanting to risk another moment of her begging. He knew the ice maker was powerless to his friends' desires. This version had no such loyalties pulling on his heart, knowing without a single thread of doubt that his own Wendy was out there. "They've already tried to stop that world once. I can't afford for them to step in my way," he said.

"You can't truly expect Wendy to keep a secret like this from Fairy Tail," Carla was quick to scold him, stepping between the imposter maker and the dragon slayer, her eyes surprisingly threatening for being so small.

"I'm afraid I do," Gray said reluctantly. "I can't afford for anyone to come in the way of my plans."

"D-don't worry…" Wendy spoke slowly, her voice shaking as she pulled herself back up. She heard the words that he didn't dare say out loud, the certainty that he would do whatever it took to reclaim his world, his family, the home that he had truly believed in. She had always wanted to believe that every single member of Fairy Tail would have no doubt fought the same way for their own nakama, even if it meant falling down a darker path. The only way that she could protect her family from a force like this was to shield them in ignorance. "Gray-san says that he believes in you, and I want to help you find your home. But you're wrong; this isn't an empty world," she said, shaking her head, her eyes filling with a new confidence and passion. "I believe in this world. Give me the chance to prove to you that this world is worth just as much as yours."

Once more impressed with the small girl, Gray was quietly confident that she would fail. After all, this world had had eighteen long years to convert the Ice Maker and yet he was still ready to trade it all for the Eclipse. "The Gate will be reopened in the Games next year. You have just under a year to convince me," he challenged her.

* * *

 **You know how I said the competition would end Monday? WELL I LIED. I'm impatient and a horrible person and clearly possessed by some horrible alterego.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and messages and guesses! I can confirm that while a lot of you were on the right lines only one person guessed 100% correctly (and knew the what the woman was talking about too) so well done Zunifex :D If you want to know the answer, check out their reply in the review board or wait until the next chapter comes out!**

 **So I seem to be getting quite a few questions asked on the review board and while I tend to be able to answer them in PMs, I think some of them might be quite interesting for most people. SO all this week I'm going to stick a very quick Q &A at the end of here. You can either bug me about bits of the storyline, writing, spoilers (haha as if I know what's going to happen, I'm seriously making this up as I go along lol). So ask away! Remember the less questions, the more detail I can put into them, and try and make them questions that you think other people might also want to hear about.**

 **Thanks for reading, FT fans!**


	9. Another World

"Are we seriously going to walk all that way…?" Natsu groaned, rolling his head back and leaning against the nearest tree.

"You can't possibly be tired already…" Wendy said, pulling a face and tilting her head to one side.

"There must be a vehicle… a train… _something…_!" the pink haired boy groaned once more, dragging his feet across the ground and reluctantly following as he saw no one was giving into his requests.

The fierce blond took no sympathy from his words, her eyes blazing angrily. They had only walked for five minutes and weren't even out of sight of the huge twisted lacrima before their friend had begun to complain and Lucy had lost all patience. "You know we don't have any money!" she reminded him, holding up her fists threateningly and watching him cower out of the way.

"I-I-I'm j-j-just saying maybe someone should stay here and guard the others…?" he said, quickly dodging away from her violence and staring back at the blue crystals hopefully.

"Maybe Natsu has a point, Lucy…" Wendy thought it best to point out before Lucy strangled the poor man to death in one of her signature chokeholds. "If these lacrima really do have the others inside of them, shouldn't we have someone stay here with them? What if someone tries to break them?"

Lucy's glaring eyes directed straight towards the tall brunette, taking no pleasure as she too squirmed away from her. At least now that Natsu was in her chokehold he couldn't run away, not that she thought he was particularly capable of running on his own two feet without a pair of wheels. "What kind of idiot would see lacrima and try and break it?!" she asked, just as the sound of splintering crystal erupted through the forest.

The three blinked, frozen for a moment as they stared back through the trees. The echo bounced the sound all around, every crystal shard vibrating at the proximity of the powerful magic.

Lucy ungracefully dropped Natsu as he hit the ground with a painful thud. "You're right, you should be here to guard them."

The forest creaked and groaned. The blue shards hummed with an energy that they hadn't felt for a very long time, a static charge pouring through the air from the magical creations. They stopped, listening to the wasteland, hearing the sounds of scrambling, dragging, whimpering, scratching…

"You can't leave me here!" Natsu cried out, holding his head in his hands.

"You really should make up your mind, Natsu…" Wendy sighed, shaking her head.

But they all held their breath as the sounds became louder. They all moved closer together, standing to each other's backs and finding each other's weak spots, ready to leap to their nakama's protection… even if protection meant running away. The closer the sounds became the clearer it was. Something heavy was being dragged across the foliage floor, metal sliced through the air and striking trees and bushes, and the constant clinking of armour. The three edged closer to one another, staring in all directions.

With one fell swoop the redhead's blade slashed through the vines, revealing the fierce requip warrior. The trio gasped and jumped back from her, the fierce look in her eyes instantly filling them with fear. She already had one victim in her hands, a strange unconscious figure gripped with one of her solid gauntlets who had clearly been dragged for quite some distance. Her eyes widened a little, lowering her sword at the frozen friends and examining each of their expressions of shock.

"Knightwalker!" Lucy whispered, putting her feet forwards and standing protectively as Natsu hid behind her and whimpered something about leaving as fast as their feet could take them.

Erza's eyes widened, a sense of understanding finally creeping in as she glanced behind her and saw yet another Lucy. The Heartfillia was standing, a look of shock paling her features as she stared at her own mirror image. Although she was happy to see the stranger, she had assumed that they would never again cross paths with their alternative selves. "Edo-Lucy?" Lucy asked, blinking several times. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

The same realisation was beginning to dawn on them all. Edo-Lucy folded her arms across her chest with new confidence, knowing that they were no longer fighting the terrifying knight, but the very slightly less terrifying wizard. They hadn't met these people since they had lost all remaining magic in the world and they would have been more than helpless against their sheer strength and will if it came down to a real battle, but the fierce blond was not going to let that stop her. "Earth-Lucy? What are we doing here? You're in our world – again!?" Lucy Ashley said, holding out her arms to the strange land in front of them.

"Your world?" Erza questioned.

The softer Lucy blinked dumbly, barely able to process the obscene question. "But… this is our world…" she said, looking around. Edolas had been completely different. Even the sky, grass and trees had seemed a different hue and the creatures were unlike anything that she had experienced in their own world. The three girls and the exceed had been travelling for a long time and so far had seen nothing out of the ordinary and she was certain the collapsed floating islands would have been visible for miles around.

Edo-Wendy tilted her head to the side, looking around her. "We haven't moved. This is definitely our world," she informed them all, surprisingly confident compared to the tiny girl that she mimicked. "But it makes sense that we should see you here. We think that our friends have been caught in the lacrima crystal in which you came to our world in."

"Us three and Gajeel are the only ones who we've seen that have escaped the curse," Edo-Lucy nodded confidently, glaring at the two 'foreigners'. Their world had been difficult since magic had left, but it had at least been repairable for the most part. Now that they were thrust back into a magical entrapment she couldn't help but torn by both a desire to pull away from the forbidden sweetness or to dive back into her old wizarding life. Magic had stolen her friends from her, and if it took magic to retrieve them she would not hesitate to recapture her old strength, or at least take advantage of Earthland's. "It took dragon slayer magic to free you and your friends last time. Please tell me that they're not too far," she said, clearly expecting the worst of luck to follow them.

"We're actually searching for Natsu now," Erza explained calmly, quick to remember their goal as she looked curiously at the frightened version of Natsu who was still staying behind Lucy, avoiding eye-contact with the redhead. "We were with Wendy just a few moments ago but we were separated in the fight. I'm sure that they'll both be nearby."

No sooner had Erza made this assessment then her very own voice could be heard spiralling its way through the trees, yet somehow not coming from her own lips. "I believe that I have one of the demons you were seeking," it spoke, the same cold and calculating orders that they were all used to seeing across different worlds. Yet another slice broke through the remaining vines on the opposite side, another familiar looking redhead staring straight towards the Fairy Tail wizards. This Erza, or Knightwalker as she was more familiarly known, looked incredibly similar to the warrior before her but only by watching each fighter side-by-side could they see the changes. Knightwalker wore a battlescar across her right cheekbone from her last encounter with her doppleganger, her hair was sliced with a blade at an awkward angle though it had had many years to grow back to its old length and somehow the coldness in her eyes had only grown stronger and bolder.

She pushed forwards her own captive, the dragon slayer stumbling in front of her, awkwardly bound in silver handcuffs. Behind him, the small blue cat had thick rope tying down his arms and hiding where wings would have sprouted from his back.

"Natsu!" Lucy gasped, surprised to see him so easily captured, even if this was a haunting version of Erza.

"I already told you, I'm not a demon!" Natsu snapped back at Knightwalker. The angry knight swiped the back of his legs with the blunt side of her lance and he fell awkwardly to his knees. He didn't feel the pain, only the inconvenience which he clearly could have braced himself for if it hadn't caught him by surprise, but it did bring him at eyelevel to the man that he had spent so long searching for. "Hey, neat, you caught Hazoula!" he said, looking up at his own Erza.

Lucy Ashley's hand was on the collar of his vest, pulling his face away from his comrades and straight to her own. Her eyes glowing with a fiery fierceness that even put Erza to shame, a fury burning inside of her as he looked at her in utter confusion. They hadn't left on bad terms as far as the dragon slayer was concerned, and yet now the dark and confident Lucy was giving him a look that even made his skin crawl. "Not a demon?!" she hissed in disbelief.

"That sounds like something a demon would say," Knightwalker agreed, nodding and crossing her arms across her armoured breastplate.

"I already told you! I was just dressing up like a demon!" Natsu raged, certain that he had already explained at least part of this plan to the Edolas Fairy Tail.

"L-L-Lucy don't…" Edo-Natsu reached out his hand to his Lucy, trying to calm his friend.

" _Badly_ ," the Lucy continued to glare, pulling Natsu up with the brute strength of sheer determination and hatred that had been gathered over seven long years. "Do you have any idea what affect that had on Natsu in our world? Did you even think about what would happen when people started to recognise him as the _demon who stole magic_?!"

Natsu's eyes opened wider. Edo-Natsu was still shaking, his hand frozen in mid-air as he stood behind his own Lucy, unable to move forwards or pull back as he could see his friend so passionately defending him with a strength he simply didn't have. Natsu had never even considered that his last charade to give the world a villain would have had such drastic affects to the dragon slayer doppelgangers that they had left behind. It had felt like a victory, felt as if they were finally leaving them to a better world where they could stop fighting over magic or the lack of. He could have never foreseen it would be the perfect opportunity to create a new scapegoat. "I… didn't think," he admitted.

"No, you didn't," Lucy hissed, tightening her grip against the dragon slayer. She didn't care if she was vastly outnumbered, didn't care if he could burn her to a crisp with the smallest flick of his wrists. Right now, all she wanted to do was scream at him, for him to understand some of the suffering that she had watched in her friend's eyes for seven long years. "You didn't think, did you?!"

Earth-Lucy may not have been as strong or confident as her Edo-counterpart, but when it came to Natsu she could hold just as much passion. "He was trying to save your world from destroying itself!" Lucy yelled at her other self, yelled at all of the Edolas residents. "Edolas needed a villain and it was either going to be Mystogan or Lily! So, his costume was a little… underdeveloped, it's not his fault that people mistook your Natsu for ours!"

"Lucy, please don't…." Edo-Natsu looked back at his own Lucy yet again, finally gathering the strength to reach and touch her on the shoulder, somehow filled with a sparkling glimmer of kindness and hope from the sweeter blond. "It's OK, really…"

Lucy Ashley was trembling with violence. She could feel her entire body burning with hatred, the emotions of her seven years of pain pouring into a feeling of hatred she hadn't even realised she'd been harbouring all this time. She wanted more than anything to see the dragon slayer afraid of a simple smile. It was his smile, an occurrence that had been somewhat rare since all the magical transportation had ground to a halt, that had finally made people realise the connection. That was when it all began. She could feel hot tears brimming in her eyes, tears of a weakness that she hated even more than the man in front of him. "It's not OK…" she said, her voice dangerously close to choking. "It will never be OK…"

"Lucy, we need him…" Wendy said softly, knowing that even though the passionate blond couldn't do any real damage against the terrifying 'demon', she needed to release him before her own heart broke. "He has dragon slayer magic, that's the kind of magic we need to free everyone else from the crystal, right?"

Erza's eyes pinned on Natsu, realising the look on his face. He knew that he had made a huge mistake and he now had the desperate need to fix it. "Natsu, would you be able to help to break the crystal?" she suggested to him, knowing that it was lucky that such an option had presented itself.

He nodded quickly, the non-magical handcuffs that Edo-Erza had attempted to restrain him with quickly melting under the might of his flaming fists. "Sure I can!" he announced, trying to show her some of the hope he so proudly carried. "Just… let go, Luce?"

Lucy didn't want to let go. She wanted to punch and scream. She wanted the dragon slayer in front of her to suffer just as much as her pink-haired friend had. She wanted him to see just how much the flames now made her Natsu flinch. But reluctantly, she let go, pushing him backwards violently as she did so and stalking away. "You better get to it," she warned him, her words not containing the slightest hint of softness as she turned away.

* * *

 **Another chapter! I'm actually quite a few chapters ahead for once so I can post quick woohoo!**

 **And its currently pretty much the end of the competition time now, so you can see the answer here! (I swear they're here for a reason)**

 **Remember you can ask me Q &As :) And I am loving all the reviews, theories, questions, etc you've been giving me. Seriously, some of you have been really stretching me for explanations so I'm quite excited to see your reaction to Edolas (don't worry, you don't have to pretend to be positive haha)**

 **Q from juststrolling23:** **will we see zeref? (i need more fics with zeref) there are not enough good ones.  
A: Yes, I certainly hope soon! I cannot justify having two stories with Zeref in the title without at least having him cameo. Saying this, I haven't written it yet and I can't guarantee it'll be a big part.**


	10. Melting and Breaking

Subtly trying to remind Gray who the people of the Edolas world were had arguably been one of Wendy's most difficult tasks. Eventually he began to slowly realise that they too were from another world and that he was no longer the most foreign person around. He watched the way that they kept his eyes darting away from him, unsure what was written in their reactions, trying to place the four different personalities and compare them to everything he had seen of these same people from this world. Now he had three personalities to remember of his nakama and he could feel his head aching in a completely different way. His world had encountered its own version of Edolas in a very similar way years before, but the lasting affect had been less than pleasant. The world of the Eclipse was overpopulated before the strain of the entire new race of creatures appeared and the exceed had been a less than welcome gift upon a starving world. The exceed had been hated and criminalised ever since, even the likes of Happy who had been there since he had hatched and the world had become an even more dangerous place. Because of this, when suggested that they would break down the lacrima and unleash even more of these people onto the world, he panicked. No one could understand his anxiety and he knew to push the unfamiliar concern further would only grow suspicion. The Edolas guildmembers had insisted they were going to find their home, but when he was so desperate to find his own home he knew that this would be no easy task.

"But we don't even know who is in there," he insisted in one last try, putting his arms firmly across his chest. "What if they have their own threats? What if they have their own version of Zeref?"

Edo-Natsu flinched.

"Who?" asked Edo-Wendy.

"See?" Natsu insisted. "Don't you have your own village to be melting?!"

Gray held his tongue, knowing that he couldn't rightly argue against letting the Edolas world run free when he had been willing to try and melt an entire village of giants who arguably looked far more threatening. He sulked away, returning back to the Sun Village alone to attempt to undo his father's twisted magic and run his mind over the events of the day. He had wanted to ask for Wendy's company so that she could clarify more of this 'Edolas' world and prevent him from stumbling into a dangerous conversation again, but dragon slayers were the only power that could affect the strange blue crystal and she was quick to dive into her new responsibilities.

They all began to all move to their selected tasks. Earthland Natsu and Wendy used their dragon roars to crack as much of the lacrima as possible, though it was a surprisingly long and draining task. Earthland Erza had listened to Natsu's account of Hazoula's place in the dark guild and his attack against them and had decided that she would not risk him disappearing to betray them a third time, beginning her long journey back to the closest city she trusted to take him into secure imprisonment. While Edo-Wendy had no powers, she was still skilled in her medical training and took each new Edolas member and checked them over for any injuries. Edo-Natsu and Edo-Lucy greeted the newcomers and explained time and time again what had happened, or at least the fact that they knew very little. And Knightwalker guarded both the Sun Village and the crystals, moving between the two and working effectively as a slave driver to the magic users.

Wendy fell to her knees, panting heavily. A thick layer of sweat rested on her brow and her cheeks blushed a deep red. "I-I-I'm sorry…" she whimpered.

"Don't push yourself, child…" Carla insisted, putting her hand on her arm comfortingly. She looked up, realising that only a small chip of the huge blocks of crystal had been broken away and they had only rescued a meagre handful of the ex-wizards, even with the power of both dragon slayers. "This will take some time," she observed, remembering how they had drained the Fairy Tail powers into a fierce weapon when the worlds had been the other way around. Without that weapon they would have no doubt spent an age just trying to free their friends.

The elder Wendy looked up from her latest newcomer, seeing her doppelganger on the ground and rushing over. "Is she alright?" she asked the small cat, concerned.

"She needs to rest," Carla pressed.

"N-no… I want to help more…" Wendy insisted, pushing herself to sit upright. She tried to pull herself to her legs but quickly found that there was a firm hand on her shoulders, staring up at eyes that looked so similar to her own.

"The exceed is right, Wendy," Edo-Wendy insisted, a kind look dancing in her eyes as she crouched in front of her. "Do you want me to get you something to drink? Or to eat maybe?"

Earthland Wendy blinked, finding her heart filled with warmth from the kindness that she could only hope to aspire to. She could feel her eyes filling with tears, exhaustion washing over her. "I-I-I'm sorry I couldn't be more help…" she trembled. "I want to help everyone. And I feel terrible about what happened to you with… the demons. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

Suddenly it made sense to the elder woman why the dragon slayer was pushing herself so hard. Edo-Wendy's eyes went wide, staring back at the guilt that had instantly filled the small girl. She tried to give a softening smile, squeezing her shoulder gently and feeling as if this girl was like the little sister she never had. "I was luckier than the others," she said, not certain if she would be helping with her words but knowing that the tiny girl needed to know the truth. "Most people didn't recognise me unless they looked really hard… And it was only ever with Natsu by my side. Besides, you weren't exactly scary," she smiled.

Wendy sighed, feeling herself slipping back into an effortless sitting position. "But it was our idea. We all wanted to help your world so much and Mystogan and Lily were fighting over who was going to play the hero and who was going to be the villain. It just seemed to make sense…"

The elder woman folded her hands back onto her lap, tilting her head slightly to the side as she observed the quiet young version of herself. This Wendy looked far younger, not only in spirit but also in body, and though she had been much smaller than her before she barely seemed to have aged a day in the last seven years. The Edolas girl could only assume that in a world of magic the aging process was much like that of the exceed. "It did make sense. We all thought it made sense too. I know we laughed when we realised what you'd done. It was only much later that we realised how-how much it would affect our lives..." she said, her words starting to trail into murmurs.

"People were angry that magic had left the world for a long time, but when the enemy was invisible the anger could be channelled into something positive. Fairy Tail was officially registered as a new kind of guild; a Jobs Guild. We couldn't settle on a particular skillset, you see," she said, smiling fondly at the memories. "It was wonderful when people finally began to accept us again. We kept ourselves busy doing everything that we could to repair the world and everyone needed something. We built our reputation quickly again. Things were wonderful.

"One day, we heard a rumour that Gajeel had been arrested. Just for the usual – he never could keep his head above water with the law. But when the news came out, people began to recognise him as one of the 'demons'. They started to draw the similarities to Natsu as well. And sometimes, very rarely, to me. For the most part we were able to deny them, but the public began to be more open with hating Gajeel while he was safely behind bars, so they began to grow more…. Heated."

Earthland Wendy noticed how she seemed to flinch at the word, refusing to let her stop her story and listening with morbid fascination.

"Our nakama insisted that we weren't to be left alone under any circumstances. People were growing bolder and more violent until one day they raided our guildhall. I managed to escape but they kidnapped Natsu. They dragged him away to the centre of the city and they…" she looked back to her trembling hands, feeling the sudden hot tears across her cheeks. "They tried to burn him alive."

Wendy couldn't help the gasp from her lips as she quickly covered her mouth, her eyes wide in horror.

Edo-Wendy's eyes were still clouded in tears, wishing that she could just stop talking but knowing that the words were coming out of her mouth against her will now. She had begun, and she would finish. "We all tried everything that we could to save him. The mob was fighting against us, the army fighting against both sides, and we just… We had thought our losses were finally over after the magic was taken away. We had thought it was the start of a new world, a chance to make a difference to the world. We… we lost even more members that day. The first since we had become an official guild. Natsu was covered in burns, but we saved him." She tried her hardest to smile, genuinely clinging to the one sparkle of happiness from that day. "We saved him."

"Oh my gosh…" Wendy whispered, her own empathetic tears falling down her face. "I'm so sorry…"

Edo-Wendy shook away her tears, trying to let the smile break through. "That was six years ago. Most of Fairy Tail ran with me and Natsu. It wasn't so bad when we moved away from the capital. No one seemed to recognise us that far out. We found a wonderful place called Magnolia to set up a new guildhall. And actually, since that day, things haven't been so bad. I know it seems bad, but I know that you genuinely helped our world for the most part. With no magic left to fight for, people have just got on and made the most of their lives. People are happier now, mostly."

Wendy was shivering. She couldn't imagine how a world could be happy after such a tragedy. She blinked quickly, looking back to Edo-Natsu, finally noticing that he was clothed head-to-toe and even his hands were covered with thick riding gloves despite the burning head. He wore a smile, however, as he greeted the latest guildmember that her own Natsu had just freed. She only felt weaker knowing that he was still using his dragon slayer power and she was on her knees, crying over another world. She felt nothing but a pounding guilt in her chest even if her elder-self was trying desperately to push it back. "Just… just let me try and free…. One more person… one more lacrima…"

Thoughts of conflicting fire and ice could not be further from her mind.

* * *

 **Apparently I'm a horrible person for posting two chapters in a row. I guess I'm a REALLY horrible person for posting this then, huh? :P**

 **But then I guess I'm a horrible person for making this entire chapter. Man, now I'm really tempted to make Edolas into an entire story... uh... anyone wanna do it for me while I finish this off? XD**

 **Haha and yeah, I'm sorry if this/the last chapter was confusing. Edolas guys can be a little confusing. I've tried to make it as obvious as possible who is doing what.**


	11. Set Fire to the Rain

The guildhall felt more alive than it had for years as the Edolas guild rushed inside and greeted their doppelgangers. There was a look of both amazement and horror written across the master's face as doubles of so many of his beloved brats went up to their otherwise known friends and family, laughing and cheering at the differences and more than a few embarrassments at the behaviour of someone who otherwise seemed so similar. The new Strauss siblings held closely onto their lost sister, Lisanna's eyes wide and filled with tears as she was once again reunited with the friends that she had spent two long years beside. She was overwhelmed, running from sister to brother to comrade to nakama and giving the biggest of hugs, unable to shield her confused happiness. However, not everyone reacted so lovingly to the intruders. Cana threw a drink in her sober reflection, rolling her eyes as the Edolas woman complained loudly at the alcoholic stink. Edo-Lucy and Edo-Levy were fighting so violently that the entire guilds had to step in to stop the pair from tearing each other apart, leaving Earth-Lucy and Levy in despair as they desperately promised each other that they would never ever fight.

"I take it that this is of your doing, Mystogan," the master said under his breath to the familiar heavily cloaked man.

"It has been a long time since anyone has called me that, Master," Mystogan's eyes settled back onto the old man, bowing his head and ignoring the shocked look from Knightwalker as he called the small aging man "Master". He was supposed to be a king, a master to no one, but he would always have respect for the man who had helped him through a dangerous new world. "I promise you that my people will not disturb you for long."

Knightwalker stalked forwards, feeling her cheeks growing hot at the sacrilege. She could not stand to see her king beneath anyone. "Your Majesty, this is _our_ world! It should be them promising us that they'll leave!"

Mystogan's eyes softened as he shook his head. "At first, I believed that this was our world, too," he said, watching as her expression slipped into surprise and he gathered the attention of more of his old guildmates and his new citizens. "There is definitely magic in this world, however, and I believe it is that magic that is changing our perception to believe that this is our world. I can't tell if it's an illusion or something far greater, but something wants us to believe that we are already home."

The words were filled with discomfort, but there was at least some hope within them. "Do you think the others who we couldn't find in the lacrima are still in our world?" Knightwalker asked hesitantly. She had her king here, but neither dragon slayer had been able to find a single one of her own nakama or the rest of the royal army, and she had yet to find even a copy of them within the earthland guild walls. Working alone suited her well and she couldn't even pretend to feel overly concerned, but guarding King Jellal was not a task that she wanted to face alone. If she was perfectly honest with herself, _he_ wasn't someone she wanted to face alone, the very thought bringing a blush to her cheeks that rivalled her jagged hair.

Mystogan could no longer say as he thought. Royalty had robbed him of honesty, but hope was the most powerful weapon that he knew any army could ever wield. "I think that it's possible, but we can't discount for the possibility that there are more lacrima in this world that have not yet been found. We must make sure that we have found every one of them before we can even think about returning home, though I suspect that we may find some of our answers along the way."

"So count me in." Mystogan and Knightwalker turned suddenly, seeing the third dragon slayer walking straight towards them pointing to himself with his thumb, giving a wide and toothy grin. "I can't stand the idea of those kids stealing all the thunder. If there's more of those lacrima to break, then I'm your guy."

Levy peered from behind Gajeel also, nervously waving and trying desperately to ignore the fighting between her other-self and friend. "I want to help as well," she said, stepping forwards and putting her hands together, telling herself that she wasn't just going because Gajeel would be by her side. "I think that I should be able to find some seeking spells to help us find any lost lacrima, or if there is anything more from your world. I've been researching a lot on other worlds recently, you see, and I've learnt of quite a few interesting amulets and spells that might help us locate foreign materials, like these lacrima."

With a new exciting plan in place and the promise of hope, Fairy Tail drank and laughed and fought until the small hours of the morning. The initial confusion faded away into newfound friendships, talking about fond memories and the strangest of contradictions that came from them. No moments of sadness were mentioned ever again, no one dared hold onto any possible grudges that they may have had. While Lucy Ashley insisted on turning up her nose whenever a dragon slayer came to speak to her, she was at least responsible enough to try to enjoy the rest of the night with the others.

"Juvia wishes that she could see two Grays," Juvia said, slipping next to the man of her affections.

Gray hadn't said much during the evening but he had soaked everything in. Nights like this were perfect to see everyone's reactions, the memories adding to his collection as he knew he was one step closer to finally perfecting the part. Not only was he now able to see what he was supposed to be doing, he could see the reactions of what could have potentially been his greatest giveaways. And he truly had been under the impression Lyon was winding him up about the stripping thing. "They said that they hadn't found everyone yet," he answered with a disinterested shrug, trying to work out why Edo-Juvia was rolling her eyes so heavily as she turned away.

"Juvia would be so happy. But Juvia doesn't want Edo-Juvia to steal Gray-sama away!" she said, mostly to herself since Gray clearly wasn't listening. "Would Gray-sama be more interested in Juvia if Juvia dressed like Juvia-san?"

Gray raised an eyebrow. "You realise I can hear you…?" he asked, though he had absolutely no idea what she was saying.

Juvia jumped, looking back at Gray and realising that once again she had been saying her inner musings out loud. A ruby red crossed her cheeks, though this was mostly because she was imagining the possibility of wearing such a revealing outfit. Well, if it made him happy… "Don't worry, Gray-sama. Juvia can will be perfect for you. Juvia 2.0!" she said, diving to hold onto his arm.

"Since when are you a mach-hey, watch it!" he flinched suddenly, feeling a static electricity crackling suddenly as she tried to grab onto his shirt. It had been sudden and so violent that it had been audible, and instinctively he rubbed his arm.

Juvia blinked, suddenly leaning back. The crackle had raced through her fingertips, the warming feeling rushing through her veins in a way that she had never known a simple static shock. It raced up her arms, twisted through her chest and rested against her heart and there it began to fill her with a sudden feeling of emptiness.

Gray frowned, watching in curiosity as something seemed to fade from her eyes as she stared forwards. "Juvia..?" he called to her gently, feeling strangely protective of her. He still struggled to make sense of exactly what the Ice Maker thought of the water witch, but in his own world they had kept as distant as possible, but either way he would never attempt to hurt her. "Are you alright?"

"Juvia… isn't sure…" she admitted, glancing up at him and staring into his deep dark eyes and see her own reflection back in them. "Juvia feels strange. Juvia… Juvia thinks that its late now," she said, slowly slipping back onto her feet.

"Do you need me to take you home?" he offered gently.

She shook her head. She could hear a voice inside of her, screaming 'why would you refuse such an offer from Gray-sama?!' but for the first time since she had first laid eyes on the ice maker she felt that the voice was ridiculous. "Juvia will be fine, thank you Gray-sa..n," she said, her familiar address halting on her lips and turning into a more familiar one. Before he could question further, before she could get the entire guild staring at her in disbelief, she walked into the darkness of Magnolia's streets and made her journey home.

Her steps were slow. Her heart felt heavier with every inch forward. She put out a hand slowly, feeling the tiniest of raindrops dance against her palm. Clutching her fist gently and feeling her element feeding into her skin, the pitter-patter of rain began to fill her ears. She didn't have her umbrella and she was inclined to agree with everyone; the rain was miserable. "Drip… drip… drip…" she breathed with a sigh, remembering how she had so commonly whispered the haunting words when a part of Phantom Lord. In the dark guild, you were expected to be creepy, you were expected to have a heavy heart and you were expected to be miserable. She hadn't felt like this for a long time and there was truly no reason for the sudden break in emotions. It was if a happy spell had suddenly been broken.

The rain soaked into the floorboards of Fairy Hills as she stepped inside. The rooms were all quiet, as she had expected, as she was sure she had seen almost everyone who lived here at the guildhall bonding with Edolas, the few absent no doubt out on a job while the boards were still flooded with new requests. Times were good for Fairy Tail, spirits were high, and she found herself with the smallest of smiles. There was at least one familiar feeling of happiness, she understood, knowing as she closed her eyes and saw the faces of her new nakama she felt warmth inside of her chest. The rain didn't matter if she had her guildmark, she decided, though she still didn't understand why the world just seemed a little dimmer than it had done before.

She opened her room door and for the first time she could see _obsession_.

She stepped forwards, spinning on the spot as she saw image after image of the man that she loved. It was on pillows, posters, drawings, furniture, plushies. A thousand eyes staring at her that used to fill her with happiness. The happiness she could no longer feel.

She stepped towards her bed, picking up one of the smallest of soft toys. It had been a raindoll, just like the ones that she had made as a child in a desperate attempt to appease whatever deity had cursed her with her rain and with it held all her promises of a sunny day. Except she had turned it into her actual good luck charm, twisted it to resemble the man who had truly freed her from the rain. She remembered the day with softness in her smile, but a burning realisation of embarrassment.

"How could Juvia not have realised that if Juvia was to bring Gray-san home he wouldn't want to see this?" she asked herself as she picked up the nearest bin and began to pull down the nearest of her collection. She didn't understand most of it. She knew that he was handsome and brave and he had chased away her rain, and for that she had idolised him. What she didn't understand was what had changed in just a few short hours.

As she cleaned she mulled over her strange life-choices and when she had first began to realise that things weren't right. It hadn't simply been the last few short hours as she had previously thought. There had been opportunities long before this day where she usually would have rushed to his side, but instead she had kept her distance; she had opted for going to her photoshoot instead of joining Fairy Tail A team in finding the boys, she had felt strange around him, she had watched from afar. And as she remembered looking into his eyes after the static shock, she realised it had felt as if she was looking into the eyes of a stranger. Albeit, a stranger with the body of a god. Because even though she had a sour taste in her mouth now as she thought back to her obsession and the hauntingly _Gray_ room, she knew that it was perfectly reasonable for her to like him in other ways. She knew that he had always been a good friend to her, a kind soul, and even without the strange infatuation his eyes still made her feel like melting.

She jumped as a sudden thunder boomed across the land outside, a crackling hiss of rain as it beat heavily down. She dropped her bin, rushing out to the window and looking out to the rivers of rain that were pouring down into hills and valleys, amazed at the dark skies above. "Has Juvia done all this…?" she questioned to herself, wondering why her magic would have had such a violent reaction. She still felt happy and what was more she actually felt more loved than ever. Now that the fog of hopelessness had been lifted she was finally able to see her friends and appreciate each one of them and the mutual bonds that they shared instead of dwelling on the one person who refused to see her the way she wanted him to. She felt as if her skies should be clear, that the sun should still beam down on the earth. She was certain of it.

But her rain hated the Fire Maker.

* * *

 **OK, I should explain a little...**

 **This story very much suggests that people are largely influenced by the magical elements that they use. If Maker magic influences people considerably, it makes sense that someone like Juvia who can literally turn her body into her element would have an even stronger reaction when against her elemental opposite (fire vs water). We already know she clearly has a thing for Ice Makers *yes, both*. I generally like the idea that while Juvia clearly idolises Gray, its actually her magic that is attracted to his, and this makes her a little... strange.**

 **And just to add to this... an observation. _Juvia does not interact with Natsu_. **

**Let that sink in for a moment. Everyone knows that Natsu is pretty much the life and soul of Fairy Tail. Even if people spend half their time scolding him or fighting him, he's generally a very well loved guy. Which is why its so strange that Juvia, one of the most popular non-Team Natsu characters, has absolutely no interaction with him, no friendship, nothing. I don't doubt they're still comrades, but I have never seen these two so much as look at each other.**

* * *

 **So, this is my weird chapter. I'm kind of interested to see if you agree/disagree with my theory? And if you don't like it, its not as if this storyline is following canon anyway (sort of) haha**

 **Oh and I almost forgot to mention! OWOZ now has over 1000 views and has officially beaten my record for most reviews on a single story! Wow guys! You rock! (especially for a sequel haha! Thanks if you're still here and putting up with my constant rambling!)**


	12. Natsus

Natsu had many strengths, but talking things through was never one of them. He could laugh, he could joke, he was an exceptionally motivational speaker, but his place was always in crowds and as the life of the party. He relished in the positive energy of his nakama and sent it back through to his guildmates in the forms of smiles and joy. So, when his alter-ego asked if he could speak to him in private with a serious look on his face, he found himself at a loss. But, true to his hopeful and open nature, he grinned widely and agreed, going for a walk with the other Natsu.

It took a long time for the speed junkie to speak. His gloved hands were deep in his pockets as he walked, nervously looking around himself as they wandered through the darkness. He felt slightly safer next to the fierce dragon slayer and this Magnolia seemed so close to his own that, as Mystogan had stressed, he almost felt at home. But the trauma of six years ago would not leave him open to trusting any strangers and he visibly tensed every time that he saw a passing resident making their way home through the darkness. He had never been brave, but now his fears felt like an iron ball wrapped around his ankles.

"Uh… did you say you wanted to say something?" Natsu pressed, not enjoying the silence. Even more so, he did not like the twisted look across a face that looked so like his own.

Edo-Natsu jumped at the sudden noise through the darkness, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "A-haha… yeah…" he began, awkwardly. "I guess… I just wanted to ask you… Gray said something about a… Zeref, right?"

Natsu blinked. The reaction from the most of Edolas guild when the name had been dropped had been undeniably lacking recognition. It had been so similar to the way that that the Eclipse world had reacted that Natsu hadn't felt any need to press it further until now. When Zeref was the answer to so many of the questions that had been burning inside of the fire slayer he couldn't deny he was interested. "You know where we can find him?" he asked.

"I-ah- I was kind of hoping that you would be able to tell me…" Edo-Natsu said nervously, instantly deflated. "I guess… Never mind. It won't be the same person anyway." He shook his head quickly, his hands gripping his pink hair and trying to push the ridiculous idea out of his head.

"We're gonna find him," Natsu said, determination in his voice as he stopped, suddenly serious. He could see pain in this Natsu's eyes, he could hear the longing in his voice and he felt his heart drop as yet another victim of Zeref had unveiled himself. "We're gonna find him and we're gonna stop him. I'm gonna make him pay for everything he's done," he promised himself.

Edo-Natsu looked up, filled with cautious wide-eyed curiosity. He could see anger, determination, a burning hatred, and all of these emotions confused him. "Is Zeref… so bad in this world?"

Natsu blinked, suddenly realising that he must have misread. "Isn't he in yours?" he said, realising that he'd completely forgotten that the others hadn't reacted to the name at all and it was only Edo-Natsu that seemed to bare any feelings. The Zeref of Edolas must not have had the same reputation of Earthland's, but he refused to believe that he could be anything but a monster in any reality and the look of pain written across Edo-Natsu's face had only helped fuel his theory.

"I… feel like you don't understand…" Edo-Natsu said, once again awkward as he twisted his scarred hands between each other. "Zeref was my brother…"

It felt as if the world had suddenly shattered. Natsu stared at his counterpart. The words that had come out of the Edolas man's mouth seemed to be an unimaginable truth, but a truth that he had already been trying so hard to discount. And now the alter-ego was pulling a locket out of his pocket, struggling with the clasp but eventually opening an image of the two boys that Natsu had been forced to see in the Eclipse memory. He swallowed hard, his own saliva tasting like ash, remembering seeing the pink haired boy coated in blood and the dark-haired guardian with tears in his eyes. He was speechless.

Edo-Natsu watched his Earthland counterpart cautiously, trying to decipher his reaction as he stared at the picture. From the way that he had been talking, from the determination in his voice, he knew that the Zeref of this world was the last person that he would have ever wanted to be a brother. But Edo-Natsu's heart was still filled with warm memories, however fleeting they were. "I'm sorry. It's probably not the same person. I mean it… it can't be the same person. That would be impossible," he said, quickly closing the locket and stuffing it back into his pocket.

All colour had drained from the dragon slayers face and he was inclined to agree. "You're right, it is impossible. Zeref is four-hundred years old," he said, rolling his eyes back and half-laughing at how ridiculous the idea was.

"Aren't you?"

Natsu took a staggered step back, completely thrown off by the sudden question. Edo-Natsu's mouth was slightly open, his eyes wide in terrified shock as he realised exactly what he'd said and was desperately trying to backtrack. "You're four-hundred years old?!" Natsu yelled loudly in complete shock.

"Shhh!" Edo-Natsu insisted quickly, desperate enough to put his hand over Natsu's mouth. His eyes were flashing in fear, knowing instantly that he shouldn't have said what he had. He had mistaken the stranger in front of him for living the same footsteps that he had when they clearly had taken drastically different courses. "You can't… you can't say anything…" he begged him, his voice flooded with shaking desperation.

Natsu's eyes were wider, unsure whether he shared his counterpart's terror or a simple fascination. He was finally allowed to breath, trying to keep his voice a little lower as he clarified "But you _are_ four hundred years old…?!"

Edo-Natsu bit his lip, looking nervously around himself. He let out a low sigh. Though he didn't share any of the character traits of the man in front of him, he knew him well enough to know that now he had this information he would not give up until his curiosity was fulfilled. "No one can know. The world already thinks we're demons, if anyone knew that we were decades old then they would have even more reason to fear us…" he said quietly, his voice still shaking and eyes darting around, expecting to find a violent shadow or a flicker of flames...

"Wendy too?" Natsu surmised.

He nodded. "And Gajeel. And there were another two… Sting and Rogue," he said, not looking at Natsu to see the recognition resting in the dragon slayer's eyes. "We were all children for four decades. It was maybe fifteen years ago or so that we finally started to age. None of us know why then, after such a long time…"

"X777…"

"Hm?"

Natsu shook his head, trying to clear the fog blocking his rational thought. "That was the year our dragons disappeared. This doesn't make any sense. None of this makes any sense. You're seriously four hundred years old?!"

"I told you to keep quiet!" Edo-Natsu said, once again looking terrified and spinning around himself to see if anyone had overheard. "I… I'm sorry, this is… this is clearly different to your world…" he said, putting his hand back into his pocket and holding onto the locket tightly. "I just hoped that I could see him again, one last time. But this world is just too different." He turned away, not able to look Natsu in the eye as he turned on his heels, trying to remember where his nakama had said they would be staying for the night and hoping that he could find someone to come with him to disappear away from the strange new guild.

"Wait," Natsu said, suddenly grabbing the racers arm and forcing him to turn back to him. "Your brother… Your Zeref. What happened to him?"

Edo-Natsu looked at him, trembling under his hold. He could feel heat under his sleeve, knew that the dragon slayer could be moments away from bursting into a terrifying flame and even just the thought of the licking fire made him want to scream. Beneath his red jacket, scar tissue and burns still raced up his arms, but they were nothing compared to the wounds fire had left on his heart. He felt tortured, compelled to answer and tell him the first time that he had been threatened with the deadly energy. "We were both children, genuinely children, four hundred years ago. We were on the run, we lived in constant fear, but we found shelter in a library. There was a ball of flames, hotter than any fire I've ever seen… It was rushing through our home, screaming. We were both afraid. He told me that he would protect me, he hid me away. I tried to stop him, but he told me to stay hidden, but I could still see.

"The fire… it spoke. It said ' _I will be your end_ '. And it killed Zeref."

* * *

The Eclipse Gate choice:

Scenario 1; Natsu dies, Zeref lives.  
Result; Earthland (Canon FT)

Scenario 2; Natsu lives, Zeref dies.  
Result; Edolas

Scenario 3; Natsu dies, Zeref dies.  
Result; Eclipse ('World Without Zeref')

Scenario 4; Natsu lives, Zeref lives.  
Result; ?

* * *

 **So about half way through writing A World Without Zeref I read a cool little fan-theory that Edolas was actually a world without Zeref. I thought this was neat, loved the idea of tying it into my story, but ultimately discounted it because as you can see they're very different worlds.** **Then I decided (because I'm clearly a masochist) that I would include Edolas in this already ridiculously confusing story. And now Natsu can finally stop convincing himself the Eclipse gate was all a dream.**

 **Oh, and the whole 'but Edolas is green and has exceed and blah blah blah...' Yeah, I could go and explain this properly, but long story short, Anna Heartfillia spent her time guarding Natsu instead of creating the Eclipse Gate, and the next person to mess with that level of magic made a inferior gate that well and truly broke the world. I might end up making a bonus chapter at the end, if someone reminds me and/or if I feel like it.**

 **And I swear that this mass posting binge is almost done. I'm only 2 chapters ahead of what I've posted now, and I try to stay 1 chapter ahead.**

 **(Sidenote; Oh, I don't think people liked Juvia haha. For the record, no I'm not a fan of Gruvia, I hate Juvia as a character, anything I write of her is me trying to justify and make her slightly less irritating haha.)**


	13. Escape

Gray had hoped that as Edolas prepared their search and slipped away from Fairy Tail that he too would be able to slip into the countryside unnoticed. He had failed the last time he had tried to take a solo mission and it had not escaped his attention that Natsu had been staring at the job board all morning. If he had been more observant, or at least more familiar with the pink haired wizard, he would have probably noticed the distractedly absent look in his eyes. He also may have noticed Lucy running to her favourite dragon slayer and the way that he tried so hard to concentrate on her words until eventually the blond sighed and went to search for Erza instead. But the fire maker neither noticed nor particularly cared, knowing only that he couldn't afford to be pulled into another group mission. He had his own mission to take care of.

The pitter-patter of rain dashed across the cobblestones as Gray pulled his jacket closer around himself, glaring at the growing clouds above him. He had no patience for umbrellas but there was something deep inside of him that recoiled at the wet sky, quickening his steps towards the station. The sound of the hissing drops almost distracted him from the splashing and skidding steps, causing some hesitation before eventually turning back curiously towards the soaked streets.

"Wait! Wait… for me. I'm… I'm coming with you!" Wendy raced forwards with her arm outstretched, drenched from head to toe and squealing as she hit puddles that ran up her bare legs. Her cheeks were a rosy red from her haste despite the cold water, relief clearly in her eyes as she stopped just in front of him. She panted heavily as her arms fell against her knees, catching her breath.

The white cat flew to a halt just behind her, looking thoroughly opposed to the entire venture.

Gray's eyes flickered in curiosity. He amused her with his attention for now, but his patience would wear thin quickly in the downpour. "You don't even know where I'm going," he remarked.

"I don't care," Wendy swallowed hard before pulling herself up as tall as she could, looking straight into the stranger's eyes. "I know that you're leaving without Fairy Tail. I know who is in charge. And you promised me that you would let me try and convince you that this world isn't empty," she announced, gripping her tiny fists tightly with a wild and determined glare back to him.

He smiled, impressed. He had done everything possible to make his disappearance as casual as possible without allowing anyone to try and stop him. Even Juvia had kept her distance this morning and he was going to take the rare opportunity to leave and come up with an excuse upon his return. By that point he would already be miles away from the guild, or so he had thought. He turned away, sighing "If you must," as he shrugged, holding out his hand and gesturing for her to continue walking beside him.

Wendy let out a relieved sigh. "Really?" He nodded and she smiled, jumping closer. "Great! Where are we going?"

Gray grinned, secretly glad for the additional company and once again revelling in her innocence and naivety. She would make an excellent pawn and he would never pass up the opportunity of learning more about his new nakama. "We're going to a place called Ashwood, about twenty miles north of Margaret City," he said. "I'm meeting some old friends."

Wendy looked with wide-eyed curiosity, walking at double pace to keep up with his long legs while jumping over the larger puddles. "Your friends or _his_ friends?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Gray's eyes were unsympathetic to her mentioning his secret in public, but she had at least had the courtesy to be pointedly vague. "Hopefully, both," he remarked, quickly leading her towards the train station.

"I find that very hard to believe," Carla hissed, her soaked fur standing on edge and ears pointedly flat.

Paying for the tickets and leading his new female companions onto his mission into the unknown, Gray did not allow Carla to dishearten him. He knew that even Wendy had her reservations against the stranger, though she was doing everything in her power now to help see through the twisted foreboding in the pit of her stomach and see the man who strongly resembled her friend. Making friends had never been a particularly strong suit for the Fire Maker but he was skilled at making alliances, and right now this was the most he could expect from the exceed. Carla had admitted reluctantly that his secret was safe as long as Wendy vouched for him but it clearly took every fibre of her being to turn against her protective instincts in such a way.

The long journey began. They took their seats within the train as Wendy slipped into the corner, squeezing the dripping water out of her pigtails and shivering. Gray somewhat reluctantly removed his soaking jacket, trying to ignore the strange looks that Carla and Wendy gave him as he did so. They had been lucky enough to secure a private cabin and the cheery conductor had let them know that they were several hours from their destination, and it was clear that both sides were brimming with curiosity. As the trees began to slip past and the quiet city disappeared behind them, the three were once again able to speak in confidence.

Wendy tugged on the edges of her dress awkwardly, trying to ignore the goose bumps beneath. "So who are these friends?" she asked finally, unable to take the silence for another moment.

In the haste and Wendy's desperation, Gray had completely forgotten he hadn't named anyone, but considering the dangerous nature of their mission he had been thankful he had remained careful, especially when there were dragon slayers with excellent hearing in Magnolia. "Lyon sent me a communication lacrima to let me know that he's tracked down Ultear. I'm hoping that he's convinced her to help with the Eclipse Gate. I need her magic to ensure we come to that world at the right time, and not after…" his words drifted off, frowning at himself. " _The Games,"_ he finished abruptly, unwilling to admit that he was too weak to face his own traumatic past. That was far too like Ice for his comfort.

"Oh, I think I understand…" Wendy thought out loud. "You said you wanted to undo what happened to Fairy Tail in the impossib-I mean, your world…" she blushed, realising that calling his very existence 'impossible' was more than a little insulting. "And you think Ultear can help?"

Gray nodded, turning to the window and watching the new world fly by as the last of the raindrops dashed into the air. "I can only hope. I know in my world she has possession of very powerful Arc of Time magic, and… I've seen a memory of her…" he said, remembering the image that the original had been unable to shield from him. The woman must have meant a lot to him for the image to be so vivid in his mind that even the imposter could sense it. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about her, though, and neither did Lyon. I'm impressed he found her so quickly."

"You've been working with Lyon all this time?" Carla asked him, her tone nothing short of accusing.

Gray's eyes flickered back, a smirk on his face. "He noticed my casting was different to Ur's teaching. She was always a pedantic little bitch."

Wendy paled, her eyes suddenly growing wide as she gripped the chair tightly. "You mean… Ur…?" she asked in disbelief.

Gray was already suffering for the insult with a blasting headache that felt as if it would pierce straight through his skull. "I understand Gray and Lyon are just as obsessed with her as each other in this world. I've worked out by now that she's no longer alive. I suppose that is a shame, I would have quite liked to compare her to my world."

"You really don't have any idea, do you?" Carla scolded in disbelief, unable to understand how he had kept his charade so far when he knew so little of Gray's fundamental history.

Wendy could feel herself trembling as the startling differences were laid out before her. It was like an open wound that she couldn't help but investigate. "In your world… Ur wasn't a good person?" she questioned gently.

"In my world, _I_ wasn't a good person," he said. He caught the look in Carla's eyes, the 'I told you so' on her lips as the exceed prepared to drag Wendy as far from the traitor as possible, but the look of horrified fascination across the dragon slayer's face caught his attention more. He leaned forwards, pressing his hands together and creating the fire that she had dreaded. The flame danced in his hands, a circling ball that was anything but the terrifying weapon they may have feared and eventually Wendy began to realise that he was warming the room and drying her soaked clothes. With a sigh, he began speaking in a slow and casual tone. "Allow me to explain: In my world, Fairy Tail is a dark guild. I was raised with different very morals than your own. All my life I was encouraged to try and achieve the elusive S-Class ranking that my mother held, in which you needed to complete your first assassination. And I was always taught that my assassination should be against the object of my uttermost hatred. Which, for a long time, was Ur.

"My parents separated when I was young and I was cared for by my mother. Ur and my father married and I supposed at the time I was acting very much like a spoilt brat. I blamed her for a lot more than she was capable of. According to my mother, she destroyed their marriage, though now I'm older I know that it simply wasn't true. But the more I learned fire magic, the stronger the hatred became. I was determined to destroy her, even if it meant destroying my father in the process. I think that's probably what my mother always intended. I spent a good portion of my childhood training to fight specifically against both my father and Ur. By chance, I found another who shared my same ambitions; her own daughter, Ultear."

Wendy hung onto his story, unwilling to let a single word slip her notice. Hesitantly she nodded, remembering the hatred that Ultear had also possessed for Ur in their own world, or at least that's what she had gathered from Gray's brief explanations. She leaned closer, telling herself it was only to be closer to the warming flames in his hand.

"We created a plan to lure her to her end, but of course it didn't work. In a strange twist of fate, I actually became closer to Pixie Wing and to my father, which I suppose was for the best in the end," he shrugged, the fire flickering as he did so. "Ultear remained determined to defeat Ur long after I had stopped but eventually she too began to see sense. I can't say I ever particularly _liked_ Ur, but I could at least appreciate that she made my father happier than my mother did. And then I started to realise how fucked up Fairy Tail really was…"

Wendy couldn't quite let out the breath of air she had been holding in her lungs since the story began, tension still tightening each of her muscles. "And that's what made you… betray Fairy Tail? When Natsu and the others came through Eclipse?"

Gray let out a shallow laugh. "Yeah, that and the other hundred times," he said, realising that his words had only brought more confusion. "What you saw was not the first time I had betrayed Fairy Tail _or_ Pixie Wing. The truth was I was playing off both sides."

Carla's constant frown deepened, making yet another mental note to not trust this man. "Why would you do that? People must have got hurt."

"People always got hurt between the two guilds," Gray said, glaring at the assumptions that Carla had been making. "Ever since the guild split in half there had been lives lost on both sides. A war was erupting and half of them pretended that it simply didn't exist. I wasn't going to let them sit and waste both of their guilds away. Frankly, I didn't care which guild won. Fairy Tail, Pixie Wing, it makes no difference to me. The winner would get the remaining members from the losing side and then Fairy Tail and Pixie Wing would finally be merged again. There is one positive to this world, I will grant you; your Fairy Tail is far stronger than either of my guilds, if not in numbers then in spirit. But make no mistake: when we go back to my world, we do my plan _right._ Fairy Tail and Pixie Wing were meant to fight and only one will survive."

* * *

 **Fun fact; I wrote this chapter without the rain, then remembered Juvia's powers and had to go back and add it in haha Also this chapter was written before Chapter 14 so if it doesn't flow right I'm totally blaming that.**

 **I was very much losing patience for this story. HOWEVER. I have now FINALLY drafted together vaguely the entire rest of the storyline. I now am no longer running around in circles haha Tbf, I've had the ending planned for a while, but now I actually know how I'm going to get there its a relief...**

 **Anyway! Thanks if you're still here and reading, I'm genuinely impressed haha :)**


	14. Weakness

**I'm feeling kind. Double update!**

* * *

Erza stood tall, letting the light streaming from the window warm her fabric. While she appeared motionless, every part of her focus alerted her to the gentlest of movements. The rhythmical lift of her chest as air filtered through her lungs, the twisted feeling of her diaphragm contracting with every pulsing breath, the fluttering of her closed eyelashes, the soft brush of stray rogue hairs slipping through the air, the gentle breath perching on the tips of her lips. She could feel the warmth of the sunlight as it refracted through steady raindrops, the location and direction of every speckle of dust around her, the magical energy rippling through the air ready for her to grasp.

Her eyes flew open. She took a structured step forwards, her body a pillar of absolute strength. She swiped her arms through the air and grasped the magical energy to twist her familiar katana across the void.

The katana fell to the floor with a clatter.

She hung motionless for a moment, eyes wide and breathing heavily. She desperately tried to scramble back the collected feeling she had only a second before. She could feel the warming light, see the speckles of dust through the air, feel the magical energy. She could feel her breath now heavy and panicked in her chest. Everything was as it should be.

But she was too slow.

Eventually she pulled herself back to a standing position, turning back and staring angrily at the magical weapon that lay carelessly on the floor. She had felt the soft touch of metal as she had spun into position, she had known that the tips of her fingers had pushed it out of the way at the last second. If she had wanted to, she simply could have moved slower or remained stationary to grasp the blade from the ether without difficulty. But she was so much stronger than this. She was faster than this.

Walking over to the blade, she reluctantly bent down to picked it up from the ground. The weight felt comfortable in her hand as she practised swiping it through the air viciously. Her breath now quickened, fuelled by anger. She knew that she could be so much better than this, she knew that she had been better than this.

 _Maybe being a barmaid wouldn't be so bad… Mirajane seems to enjoy it…_

She hissed at herself as the thought crept into her head, not for the first time, gripping the sword tighter and striking through the air time and time again with deadly precision. Now the katana was within her grasp she was as fast as lightning, twisting through the air with fierce determination and grunting and yelling against invisible enemies. Even the air itself seemed to quiver under the might of her thrusts. She refused to be weak. She refused to be slow.

Yelling out again with her last dangerous plummet downwards, she firmly cemented her blade into the ground below her. She would not be weak; she could not afford to be weak. Her heart was racing like a drum inside her chest against her exasperated lungs, sweat rushing down her body. The thoughts had been plaguing her since Eclipse, trickling into her darkest nightmares and filling her with a drive to be stronger, faster, braver, better. She could accept the Eclipse Erza being happy without her armour shielding her heart, but she could not bear the thought of facing a world without her strength.

It was absolutely the worst time for her magic to begin to fail. She pushed her hand out in front of her, hovering over the blade and pulling on the familiar feeling of magic. The hilt flickered for the briefest of moments and her eyes grew wide, the panic refusing to leave even as the katana eventually faded back to the ether.

Erza was vulnerable. Her magic was slower than she had ever felt it and she was certain her wavering conviction had something to do with it. She swallowed hard, the chill of fear telling her that she couldn't be left in this world without her familiar armour to comfort her. Her arms stretched outward either side of her, quickly and desperately calling upon every ounce of her power to push the Heart Kreuz armour back against her chest. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt the metal resting on her chest, finally able to breath with the comforting constraints. Her head tilted backwards as she could feel the cold steel slip against his back, her arms pulling down with the heavy gravity of shining gauntlets, legs lifting from the ground as they were secured down with thick black boots.

She sighed as her boots once again struck the earth, the magical glow dissipating around her. That had been far too much energy to turn back into a casual outfit, she decided with an angry sigh to herself as she twisted around quickly to the exit.

Erza froze before she could take a single step forward, finding herself suddenly staring back at the blond celestial wizard who was staring at her from the doorway. "You need to stop sneaking up on people," she warned her sharply, though she meant kindness in her words.

Lucy flinched visibly, though for once the requip wizard's fierceness had nothing to do with it. She was remembering how she had met an untimely end appearing behind the dragon slayer in the eclipse world and was so overcome with the sudden reminder that she momentarily forgot what about to say, squeezing onto Plue tightly. "I-I'm sorry…" she said feebly.

Erza tilted her head slightly, wishing that she could read emotions more easily. Blades and fists were far easier to understand, though right now even they seemed to be evading her. "Did you need something?" she prompted.

Lucy nodded, her blond ponytail bobbing as she did so. "Yes. I needed to talk to you about my spirits…"

Erza found herself mildly interested. She'd never been called upon for advice for celestial magic before, just as she would have never gone to the blond woman for fighting advise. They were two particularly different skillsets. "You seem concerned," she tried to observe.

Lucy looked away, holding onto Plue tighter as the strange 'dog' looked up at her. "I can't call them," she admitted painfully.

Erza blinked. This was certainly a lot more serious than she had expected and suddenly her own battle with her agility and fears seemed nothing in comparison. Lucy may have been stronger than she appeared, but without the aid of her spirits a Lucy Kick could only go so far. Then, to confuse her further, there was already a celestial spirit in Lucy's arms. "What do you mean that you can't call them?" Erza inquired more, trying to sound as approachable as possible.

Lucy looked flustered, as if she was going to burst into tears. "I just… can't. I've tried several times this morning. I just… every time I try to open one of the gates, every time I try I have no response. I can't hear them, I can't feel them… Plue is the only one that I've managed to call…" she said, looking at the small creature in her arms as he sympathetically tilted his head to one side. She sighed, pulling on her leather pouch of keys for the final time and putting her fingers longingly against the golden and silver keys each in turn.

"Lucy! Lucy can you hear me?!"

Lucy gasped, looking up suddenly and trying to work out where the wonderful sound of one of her spiritual guardians was calling her from. Erza's eyes gazed around the room as well, both women quickly realising that Loke was nowhere to be seen. "Loke?!" Lucy called, feeling now more than ever she wanted to burst into tears, though this time in relief and the sudden feeling of hope. "Loke where are you?!" she yelled out.

"I'm still in the celestial world," the voice called out for them all to hear and even Plue seemed to be hanging onto each word intently. "Lucy, there's something going wrong. I-I can't explain it, but the gateways don't seem to be working..." he said, sounding beyond irritated and out of breath.

"Let me try…" Lucy said quickly, refusing to put down Plue even for the briefest of moments as she fumbled over her pouch and pulled on the warm golden key of the celestial leader. "Open, Gate of the-"

"Lucy, don't!" Loke called out quickly.

Lucy stopped her magic instantly. "Huh?" she murmured, her head tilting to one side.

"The doors are getting blocked both ways. Even if I did end up coming back through to your world I might not be able to get back again…" he said, his voice edging on desperation.

Lucy's eyes widened, understanding the pain that it must have caused the spirit to warn her of this fate. His voice was close to trembling and for the briefest of moments she wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold him, to have him in her arms and tell him that she was not Karen. She would not suffer her fate whether he was in this world or trapped on the other side. "Loke…" she breathed, wishing that she could tell him that she understood his pain.

"Just be careful, Lucy, _please_ ," he told her in desperation, his voice fading and crackling through the temporary connection. "Promise me that you won't go into any fights without me. _Promise me that you'll be safe_ …" he whispered.

"I want to help you!" Lucy called out, stepping forwards and still desperately trying to look out for him. "There must be something I can do!"

"There's nothing any of us can do. None of us know what's happening, not even Crux," Leo explained. "Please will you just promise me?!"

Lucy swallowed hard, the idea dawning upon her that this door may be closing for a very long time. She may never hear his voice again, never see any of her celestial guardians again, and it was terrifying. "Loke…" she whispered, knowing that there was so much that she wanted to say before she risked losing some of her closest friends. She wished that she could see Leo in front of her, wished that she could be holding his hand while he was saying goodbye.

"Lu-cy promi-se me-" Leo's voice broke over the communication, struggling as the magic vibrated through the air dangerously.

"I promise!" Lucy screamed. She promised that this wouldn't be the last time she would speak to them. She promised that they would be by her side as quickly as possible. She promised that she would not give up on her friends. She could feel hot tears falling from her eyes, holding onto the small creature in her arms as tightly as she dared. "I promise you don't need to worry about me, Loke. Besides, I have Plue here to protect me…" she half-joked, braving a smile and hoping he could hear it in her voice.

"You-what?!" Leo called out, his voice suddenly raised in panic.

"I… Yeah…" Lucy said slowly, looking down at Plue in mild confusion. Leo's reaction had been far more violent than she could have anticipated. "What's wrong with that?"

"Lucy s-end hi-m back right n-ow!" Leo called, his voice flickering but his terror was clear. "H-e wi-ll kee-p drai-ning you-r po-wers! Send h-im back while you have the cha-"

Silence fell into the room.

"L-Loke?" Lucy called out. There was no reply. "Loke? Leo!?" she yelled loudly, holding his key as tightly as she could and fighting the urge to call him into the world. She had seen the torture he had had to endure for three long years on Earthland. She had seen the fatigue in her spirits if she had summoned them for too long. She knew that she couldn't rightly put him through the same trauma.

She looked down to the small companion in her hands, feeling the awkward shivering he always did against her arms. Gently she placed him down on the ground, looking back at him and patting his head gently. Sending away her very last spirit was the last thing she wanted to do right now while she still had tears in her eyes, but she couldn't watch him suffer. "I'm sorry Plue…" she whispered. "It's time for you to go home."

Plue tilted his head to the side, holding his gigantic ball of a head.

"He seems he doesn't want to go…" Erza observed, frowning and trying to process the entire encounter with the spirits and their master.

Lucy gave her own frown, this one in concern as she squatted down to Plue's level. "Come on, Plue, you need to go now," she urged the small snowball. "I know you don't want to go, I don't want you to go. But I can't let you stay here. Earthland isn't somewhere for a celestial spirit. Close, Gate of the Canis Minor."

"Pu-punnn." It tilted its head the other way.

Lucy gave an irritated sigh, her voice touching on serious. "Enough, Plue. Go back."

The spirit danced on one foot, waving its arms around wildly. "Pu-puuuuunn"

"I'm serious, Plue!" Lucy scolded him.

"Do you think that he means he can't go back?" Erza questioned gently.

Lucy blinked, embarrassed that the requip wizard had been able to decipher her pet's message before she could. "Oh! Uh… Ok then…" she said, taking Plue's key back into her hand. "OK. Force Close, Gate of the Canis Minor!"

Plue continued his dance.

Lucy looked back at key in her hand in disbelief. "Force Close, Gate of the Canis Minor! Force Close! Force Close! Plue go home!"

* * *

 **Bah I'm still not happy with this chapter but I've redone it several times and this is the best you're gonna get.**


	15. Gift'

The meeting point had been chosen carefully by Ultear as somewhere she had sworn was a safe and quiet environment for the ultimate secrecy, but Lyon had had his reservations from the start. This was the closest he had been to his home since before the Grand Magical Games and he could feel that the call to Margeret Town, and more importantly the guild inside, was far stronger than he ever could have expected. The first time he had been beside the beautiful young woman, although he had not known she was female at that time, he had officially left Lamia, though throughout all of his temptations he'd never been able to take the guildmark away. Gently he placed his hand over his jacket, feeling relief his emblem still rested beneath his layers of clothing, even as the ink burned with guilt and fears that he would not so easily recover a second time. "Crime Sorcière…" he murmured absently to his companion, vaguely following her earlier conversation. "It sounds like a wonderful guild."

Ultear looked back at Lyon, following his trail of thought. Her lips thinned. "It is," she admitted seriously. "I hope you never have a need for it to cross your path, Lyon," she said truthfully.

"Mmm." His eyes sank back into the trees around him, once more lost in thought. This hadn't been the first time that he had put his own personal conflicts before his guild and he was realising more with every passing day how lucky he had been they had accepted him back all those years ago. He would have fought and screamed until the bitter end if they had not taken his companions, but accepting him when he had fallen so far from his loyalties and kinship was nothing short of a miracle. Now he was once more throwing it aside for Ur. It was all for Ur.

"I saw Lamia Scale in the Games," Ultear commented lightly, taking in the scenery as they continued their slow and deliberate walk. "They're a very skilful guild, and I'm glad to see that Toby, Sherry and Yuka have found a guild together. It's clear to see that you are well loved, Lyon," she said, offering him a smile as he looked even more distant. "They have also been following us for the last three hours."

Lyon's eyes suddenly glanced upwards, taking a staggering step back. "F-following us?!" he asked, looking around himself suddenly to try and see any hint of his nakama through the shadows and trees.

A smug smile rested easily on the Time wizard's face as she stopped and turned to him. "You are distracted, aren't you?" she asked casually, pulling out one of her arms from beneath her cape and twisting her fingers over what seemed to be a pile of broken twigs. "Thankfully they don't seem particularly skilled at tracking. I believe this is one of theirs?" she questioned. She poured her time magic through her body, struggling at the most simple of motions as it scattered around her. Through her struggles she eventually managed to pull on the twigs and leaves as they danced haltingly through the air, pulling together and repairing the cracked figure. Two lifeless eyes were made from holes in thick bark, arms and legs made of sticks and a slender body pulled up by invisible strings.

Lyon's eyes widened in recognition. "One of Sherry's dolls…?" he breathed.

Ultear nodded, letting the wooden doll once again fall back into a broken pile. "They've been scattered all along our path. It seems that they've overtaken us and backtracking now." She was panting lightly; the simple spell having drained far more energy than she would have wanted. She could feel every tap against the fragile world was more and more dangerous, but she suspected that part of the reason was their proximity to the origin. "Lyon, you should go ahead and talk to them," she told him sternly, distracting herself from her weakness.

Lyon paled. He gripped his hands tightly, desiring nothing more than to scream at his friends and tell them to run as far as possible. He could once again feel he was slipping into a darkness and the last thing he needed was to have his nakama once more following his path blindly. "Right," he said, sternly nodding, walking ahead and trying to gather the control he craved.

"Lyon," Ultear's voice was firm enough to stop him for a moment, but soft enough for him to not give into looking back to her. "They've come a long way to find you. Be kind to them."

He bit his lip instead of retorting. The last thing he needed was for a criminal to be telling him how to be cruel or kind. He stormed forwards instead of replying, pushing out the leaves which blocked his way angrily and trying to focus. He hadn't asked for them to come after him, he hadn't asked anything of them. He wanted to feed the anger inside of him but at the same time he knew that he had left without explanation. He had disappeared from the guild who had cared for him despite everything and onto a dangerous path. He couldn't blame his comrades because if he was truly honest with himself he knew he would have done exactly the same thing for any one of them. That was what Lamia Scale meant. That was what nakama meant.

 _"I can't hear your voice and I can't see your appearance. But I know."_

Lyon stopped in his tracks suddenly, hearing the quiet voice through the wild woods. It hadn't been one of the companions that he had expected to hear and he would have probably missed it if he had not been trying so hard to find the voices and movements of the poor trackers.

 _"You're over there, aren't you Mavis?"_

Lyon stopped himself just before he called out, realising that the words were not intended for him. Mavis. He knew that name from somewhere.

 _"You were near me seven years ago."_

Curiosity drew him closer to the unfamiliar voice, wondering if the stranger had seen the rest of Lamia Scale or if he was a threat that he needed to warn the others of. A sense of dread came just from hearing the conversation, realising with curiosity that he couldn't hear the other side. Mavis. That name was something to do with Fairy Tail, wasn't it?

 _"It's already been decided on."_

The closer he got the more he felt the sense of unexpected dread, unable to shake the idea that he should have been running away instead of walking forwards. Mavis was Fairy Tail's first master, he remembered eventually, and vaguely recalled a rumour that the ghost was visible only to those with the guildmark. It would explain why he could only hear one side of the conversation but the male voice didn't seem to be able to hear her either, though he was talking with enough familiarity to guess her responses.

 _"For hundreds of years… I have watched the end of eras. The fighting, hatred and evil people. I keep hoping every era will be cleansed of those. How many times has it been… people keep making the same mistakes."_

He swallowed hard, trying to make sense of the strange direction the conversation had taken. If there was a threat to Fairy Tail, he knew he couldn't greet Gray without at least a little more explanation than 'a bad feeling'. Hundreds of years? That was impossible… unless…

 _"They're not living. Not in the true sense. The loving being that you would call 'human' is already extinct."_

He caught a glimpse through the leaves, seeing the dark-haired man sitting in a ring of darkness and death. A familiar creature was standing on his shoulder, the wide grin of the black impish being reminding him of some of the more horrific moments of the Games. The very ground had crumbled beneath the mysterious man and Lyon realised quickly that the branches and leaves that were precariously shielding him were brittle at the very presence of the dangerous man.

 _"Yes, I have. This is the conclusion I came to from seven years of thinking."_

Lyon held his breath, unable to turn away. The immortal was pulling himself to his feet now, staring back into the forest as his eyes rested against an image he couldn't see beyond memories and imagination, but the determination that rested inside was enough to fill the ice mage with an unwelcome coldness. He should have been running.

 _"If the world keeps rejecting me, I will destroy this world."_

Lyon took a staggered step backwards, eyes wide. Even his own heart felt as if it was stopping in his chest, the sickening feeling of unexplained terror swallowing him hole. This was worse than he could have imagined. He should have been running.

 _"This is a gift from me. The world's harmony and its regeneration."_

The impending doom was more than he could bare. The brittle sticks were crunching under Lyon's fumbling backwards but he couldn't tear himself away from what he was seeing, certain now that the man that he had been determined to end. The man who had led to the deaths of thousands, to the creation of almost every dark guild on the continent, to the terrifying creations that had destroyed homes, lives…

 _"No. It will be a one-sided annihilation. I cannot allow anyone to be kept alive."_

… Creations like Deliora.

Zeref suddenly glanced back, eyes resting on Lyon's. Lyon gasped, realising that _now_ was the time to run. Now was definitely the time to run. He couldn't help but stare in terror, every moment of trauma that had fallen in his life leading straight to the man that was standing in front of him. The man who had just announced war upon existence.

Zeref's eyes softened for the briefest of moments, as if remembering his old self. He had been determined to turn into the villain that the world was determined to see within him, to channel his magical energy the way that it had always been intended to and become a terrifying Shinigami to cleanse the world. He could imagine Mavis screaming at him, pleading with him, begging him, but what kind of villain would allow his first action to one be of mercy. "I am very sorry," he said gently, meaning his words and filling with sadness as he unleashed his darkness.

* * *

 **...**


	16. A World Worth Saving

The feeling of darkness swarmed the air, suffocating the life out of anything it touched. The birds flew desperately away, leaves dropped and the branches curled and snapped under the weight of shadows. The feeling of despair and the stench of death rippled through the Ashwood. The contradictory curse. Ankhseram. Black Magic. Zeref's Curse. It was known by many names across the land, but Gray only knew it by one.

 _"The Sudden Death."_

He stopped suddenly, Wendy on his heels with a similar worried expression written across her face. The feeling of death was inescapable. To the air dragon slayer, it was overwhelming, her head spinning as abilities that abruptly contrasted her own danced through the air that she soaked in for strength. She put a hand on her mouth, not only in shock but to also prevent the horrific feeling sinking into her body. "This magic… it's familiar…" she choked, trying to place where she could have felt such darkness before.

Gray was beyond hearing. His mind was twisting frantically over memories and nightmares and the desperation he had felt to reach into the dark magic. In some twisted dark spot inside his mind it felt as if his parents were inside the shadows and before he could stop himself he had taken a solitary step forwards.

Before he could take another, he felt himself and the dragon slayer suddenly yanked away. "Get back, you idiots!" the woman hissed as she dragged them both to the ground. Without even time to think she had pinned them both down, glancing up cautiously and staring through the rotted trees around them. Her eyes were wide with a calculated panic, her chest rising and falling heavily as she watched in anticipation for a certain shadow to pass through the trees. "We need to hide," she instructed them both swiftly, finally pulling her knees off both of their chests.

Gray coughed heavily, clearly winded from the sudden assault as he and the small girl helped each other to their feet. "What... Ultear?" he said suddenly, recognising the woman from his images and his own contradicting memories.

She turned back to him, eyes narrowing in disgust for the briefest moment before deciding that now wasn't the time. "We need to hide. Quickly," she hissed, leading the way towards a nearby mound and jumping into the pit below.

The Fairy Tail wizards looked at each other, briefly nodding before rushing after the dark-haired woman. They looked over the edge of the mound as Gray quickly offered to help Wendy drop down, only to find Carla was already on her back and flying her to the safety inside. He jumped down beside them both, the rotting leaves bracing his fall. "Ultear, what the hell is going on?!" Gray eventually hissed.

The time wizard glared at him to stay silent, pulling herself over the side of the pit to glance once more to find familiar darkness. She had felt the twisted magic that had caused all three Fairy Tail members discomfort, but she had also felt its movements and more importantly its direction. "Zeref…" she breathed gently, her eyes finally finding the flash of black and white clothing disappearing through the ghostly forest.

Gray and Wendy's gaze followed her path, their own eyes wider as they witnessed the man who had been responsible for so much destruction. He was the fairy tale villain, he was the legend of nightmares, and he was the one who had prevented Gray's world from ever existing. He gripped onto the side of the ledge, still unable to shake the feeling of The Sudden Death clinging to his memories and twisting around his soul. "So that's Zeref…" he hissed, resisting the urge to jump out and attack him.

"He looks so young…" Wendy commented, her head tilted slightly to the side as he began to disappear into the unknown.

Ultear's frown deepened, keeping her eyes pinned on the black mage and not daring to drop her guard until he was completely out of sight. The last time that she had felt this powerful magic she had been on Tenrou Island and the young man had been clearly different. She had beaten him then, rather easily if she remembered correctly, but the tension in the air told her that this wasn't the quiet and contemplative victim. Zeref was awake.

"Ultear…" Gray hesitated. "Where's Lyon?"

Ultear's mouth hung open, the words failing to come out. She glanced over the desolate land, the broken trees and falling leaves, trying to find a trace of white hair as the dark lord disappeared the haunting forest.

"Ultear!" Gray hissed louder, keeping his voice low only to keep the dark wizard out of earshot.

"He went ahead to meet with some of the members of Lamia Scale…" she explained quickly, her urgency sinking in as she pulled herself over the ledge and looked around, still hesitant as she feared Zeref would suddenly hear the movement in the still wasteland and turn back to the new victims. The landscape now looked so different and empty that she could barely remember which way she had come from, pulling a hand over her eyes as the suddenly unfiltered sunlight shone into her gaze. "This way…" she guessed, beginning the broken trail.

Gray pushed ahead of her, held back only by the fear of missing something through the desolate wasteland, pushing forward in the opposite direction of the dark-haired man. The deeper he ventured, the more he could feel the darkness, the more the curse choked the air he breathed, the more the sense of dread engulfed him, and the quicker his steps became. He could see through the skeleton trees for miles ahead but he could still not see any sign of his old friend. "Lyon!" he cried out, taking less care and running faster and faster. They struggled to keep up with his haste, Wendy more than once stumbling on the rough terrain as Gray halted to pull her back onto her feet, only to begin his desperate push forwards once more. At first the vines and branches were difficult to snap through, scratching against their skin as they rushed past, but eventually they began to fall beneath their grasps, logs and branches breaking into dust at the lightest of touches.

And there, in the middle of the darkness, lay a body draped in grey leaves.

Gray's heart felt as if it had stopped, his feet unable to move forwards as his eyes caught sight of the object of his fears. "Lyon…" The word fell out of his lips uneasily, his lungs stiff and refusing to let a comforting breath through his chest. His steps faltered for only the briefest of moments before pounding straight back to the ground, faster and harder than he had ever felt possible. Heat burned through his body, his eyes flaring in desperation as he skidded straight to white haired man.

He fell to his knees before him, pushing back the dead leaves that crumbled to ash in his fingertips and taking a hold of his shoulders. Blank eyes were staring at the sky. "Lyon!" he screamed, his own eyes flooding with tears. There was an uncomfortable cold stiffness beneath his fingertips that he knew came from something far worse than ice.

Wendy was by his side, visibly shaking as she fell to her knees opposite the friend. She looked between them both, her eyes wide and pulling her hands out. Carla was telling her something, warning her about over-exerting her powers and breaking the rules of her wind magic, but she ignored the words. She could not rightly ignore a friend in pain. She knew that the tears in Gray's eyes came from every part of his soul, his desperate cries in echo from every world, and she would not sit and do nothing.

The world seemed to stand still.

Eventually, an exasperated gasp left her lips. The beautiful light beaming from her hands was doing nothing. Lyon's eyes were still staring into the distance, lifeless and cold. "Gray, I…" she breathed.

"Don't," Gray shook his head quickly.

She swallowed hard, her body shaking. "Gray, I-I can't…"

He gritted his teeth as tightly as he could, biting back the painful tears. He couldn't tell if the burn they left across his cheeks were from heat or cold. "Don't give up. Don't," he begged her, not even able to look her in the eyes as his long hair covered his tear-streaked face.

Wendy shivered, her own tears now dancing in her eyes. She wanted to reach out, to let her soothing magic mend the wounds that had been inflicted but she was starting to realise that even her pure air magic was powerless to repair the damage left in the wake of the contradictory curse. She felt what Gray felt, however, felt the determination and the desire to not give up. Once more she gently raised her hands, pouring her heart into the magic.

She had been so caught in their desperation that even with her heightened senses she hadn't heard the footsteps behind her. She had only realised their presence as a familiar hand traced her arm gently down to her fingertips. She gasped, ready to pull away from the foreign entity that was trying to disrupt her magic, until she began to feel the hum of energy pulsating in time with her own. Her eyes glanced up towards Sherria's, widening as the God Slayer curled her fingers over Wendy's and grasped her second hand, twisting her body towards her own. The breath hung off Wendy's lips, almost forgetting the all-important ingredient to her magic in her shock. She felt the white magic echoing over her, bright white light twisting around them both.

She could feel her powers flooding through the fingertips that now curled around her sky sister's, feel the warmth through the air and the hum of magic as slayer matched slayer. Sherria's tears were also in her eyes, a sense of desperation in the grasp and sweat in the palms resting against Wendy's, but there was a hope in her soft smile that Wendy had been close to losing. The magic bounded from girl to girl, body to body, palm to palm, growing and moulding into a brighter and more vibrant light as it did so.

"Is that… U-Unison Raid…?" Sherry asked, her heart beating fast in her chest as she looked at her cousin with a sense of pride bursting through her aching terror.

Gray, Ultear, Carla, Sherry, Yuka and Toby watched in wide-eyed amazement as the winds gathered force around the sky sisters, the heavens themselves seeming to open before them as the sunlight poured upon the broken land. The energy poured into the earth, glistening through the shadowed world and dispersing through the land of death. It was a bright golden glow, blindingly beautiful, but the slightest flickers of green could be seen through the immense rays of hope. An overwhelming sense of life shattered through the decay, the soft rustle of leaves once more gracing their ears.

And Lyon blinked.

* * *

 _"Check it out!" the dark-haired boy said proudly, running over and cupping his hands together._

 _Lyon's eyes widened as he stared as the familiar magic energy took on a new golden glow within his best friend's hands. Even before his palms had been opened, Lyon he had been able to feel the difference and the strange warmth, amazed as Gray revealed a flame instead of the block of ice that he had been used to seeing. "Whoa…" Lyon admired the bouncing flame, but he couldn't help but grow confused by the opposing element._

 _Gray just grinned proudly, staring at his magical creation. "Do you like it? Mom taught me how. She says fire is much stronger than ice."_

 _Lyon's eyes still stayed wide in childlike wonder, even if he disagreed with the woman's statements. "No way. Your fire will never be stronger than my ice," he grinned, but gasped as the fire suddenly froze solid in Gray's palms. "Huh? Is it… meant to do that?"_

 _Gray frowned deeply, already irritated by his conflicting magic. This hadn't been the first time that one of the burning red flames of the fire maker magic had suddenly frozen into ice within his hands, though he had only recently swapped between the two contradicting elements. "I guess I'm still messing up. But I kind of… don't want to get rid of ice magic completely. Please don't tell mom…"_

 _Lyon frowned but nodded, knowing already just how terrifying the Fullbuster mother could be. "I won't," he promised. "But what about your dad? Won't he want to teach you ice magic anymore?" he asked curiously, knowing that the dark-haired boy's family hadn't been subtle in their disagreements before, but Lyon almost wanted to shake them all and tell them that at least they were all alive and together. He had Ur, but sometimes that was no substitute for the family he had already lost._

 _Gray sighed and let the ice disintegrate, pulling himself onto the wall as darkness flooded his eyes. "They're fighting, again. Mom keeps saying she doesn't want Ur or anything to do with ice magic around. She doesn't even think that I should be talking to_ you _."_

 _"You can't let her stop us!" Lyon announced._

 _A smirk rested on the new Fire Maker's face. "Don't worry. Nothing can stop us."_

* * *

The joy and relief were clear on the faces of both Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail as Lyon once again pulled himself up. Laughter chorused as he yelled at Toby to watch his paralytic nails as the simple man dived and wrapped his arms around him. Thanks were given on all side to the two amazing sky sisters. No one mentioned how impossibly dire the situation had been and the good fortune that had saved the white-haired man's life.

In a rare moment of truce, Gray had been awarded a few sparse memories of a childhood with Lyon from the ice maker inside of him, passing his own back into the void and trying desperately to distract himself from the destructive force that had destroyed his entire world. Gray lost himself in thought and memories, staring out into the desolate wastelands. Sherria and Wendy's magic had returned some life to the world but it had been nothing compared to the consuming power of the curse, and the faint glimmer of leaves seemed almost mocking upon a background of black and grey. Nothing would survive long in the wilderness that had been instantly created, the Ashwood finally living up to its name and dissolving into instant decay.

He pulled his jacket closer around himself, the air dry in his lungs. It didn't fill him with any comfort knowing that between his own memories and the ice maker's there was one resounding truth that he simply couldn't escape; he couldn't let any harm come to Lyon. It betrayed every promise that he had made to himself and every commitment that he had made to his own world by refusing to care for this one. He had refused to admit when the smallest dragon slayer had tugged on his heartstrings, refused to admit any comfort from Natsu's eager selflessness, but coming close to losing his childhood friend had made him realise that this world would not go down without a fight.

"Ultear is still not convinced." Lyon's voice was behind him, breaking him out of the anguish to see the real man beside him. "She seems afraid, but she is more afraid of what will happen if we don't let her help."

Gray had actually been impressed that Lyon had pulled himself away from his guildmates so quickly, but hearing Ultear's soft words he knew that she was giving a quick explanation of Gray's new persona. It irritated Gray, but he reluctantly admitted that if they did not understand now, Lamia Scale would only go onto ask dangerous questions later. Questions he could accept, but interference was another matter. "Not 'we'," Gray shook his head sombrely. "You're out, Lyon."

Lyon frowned, staring back at the image of his fellow student. "What do you mean 'out'?" he questioned.

"I mean you're out!" Gray hissed louder, his eyes now flashing in both a fierce heat and a calculated cold. "You have completed your mission. You've brought Ultear to us, now let me finish the rest."

"You can't make me leave," Lyon said, narrowing his eyes and trying to fight the weakness that he still felt despite the sky sister's most powerful magic. "You've pulled me this far into this mission, into saving Ur. You can't just turn your back on this now," he said back, trying not to focus on the hypocrisy of his words. His own nakama were staring at him, unaware he was moments away from arguing with them all to leave before he had almost fallen to a deadly fate.

"I'm not turning my back on it, I'm telling you that I'm not risking you any further in this. _We're_ not risking you," his voice grew louder, the faint hint of an echo as both fire and ice spoke in unison, his warning gaze never once leaving the Ice Maker before him.

Lyon's arms folded across his chest stubbornly, but it was not he who would argue for his place in the mission. "He isn't out, Gray," Ultear's soft yet scolding tone slithered through the air, walking over to the pair with the rest of their newest companions trailing behind her. She had explained as best she could to the Lamia Scale members the details of Lyon's sudden disappearance, giving them the respectful truth and reassurance that their friend had not yet fallen into darkness again. The look in their eyes was once again the unflinching loyalty that Lyon had dreaded, but Ultear still wore the gaze of determination concealing fear. "None of you are _out_. I'm afraid that the risk is now inescapable."

Gray gritted his teeth together angrily, desperately ignoring the voice inside of him telling him to cool down. "You don't get to make that decision," he said.

Ultear's eyes narrowed to him, the same disgust resting in her eyes from the first time that she had seen his new fiery persona. "You have no idea how broken you look, do you?" she asked, staring at the invisible fractures and splinters in the time magic that she held dear. Her expression twisted in disbelief, both in his ignorance and the cracking spatial magic all around him. "This is beyond your decision. This is beyond your world or our world and every world in between. Our entire existence is under threat because of the foolish Eclipse Gate."

She pulled her stance tall, refusing to break or flinch under the shocked gazes of the ice and fire makers before her. Like Gray, she too had been reduced to using the remnants of Ur's magic while her Arc of Time fluctuated with difficulty, and she began to pull her hands together into the familiar shapes. A flat sphere of ice appeared before her as she refused to even look down at her creation in her attempt to drill her words straight into the mages' hearts. "There are rules in this world, rules that keep the fragile balance of parallel universes, rules that by forcing yourself into this world, you have shattered, Gray," she hissed at him, allowing no softness into her words as she pulled out a small concealed blade and drove it straight into the ice in front of her.

The sphere, as expected, began to creak under the blade as cracks spread over the smooth surface, chips gently beginning to slip out of place precariously. She could tell by the expressions on their faces that even if the two men didn't understand time, they could understand ice. "This is our world right now. Time, space, existence. Above and below are thousands of other parallel universes, just like your own. Eclipse Gate has driven a barrier between these planes of existence and it's impossible to predict just how long we have until the entire universe collapses."

Wendy's eyes grew wide as she watched with fascination, every crack of ice making her visibly flinch. "Parallel worlds… like Edolas?"

Ultear looked between the three Fairy Tail wizards' concerned glances. "What is Edolas?" she asked.

"Another world," Gray said hesitantly, eyes still pinned on the ice before him as they all waited with baited breath for the structure to suddenly collapse. "It was a parallel world that Fairy Tail from this world had been sucked into some time ago. The other day we discovered that some of them had been transported to this world. It must be connected…" he said hesitantly, trying desperately to come up with some explanation that did not mean he had caused the potential destruction of the entire universe. He knew already that guilt did not sit well with him. "If we went to their world, why did this not happen last time?"

Ultear put a hand on her hip, feeling like a teacher scolding her ignorant students. "Travelling between parallel universes isn't uncommon. Celestial Spirits come into our world all the time. Requip wizards access void worlds to store their weapons and armour. Teleporters bounce between our world and parallel worlds to quicken their movements. Spatial magic isn't uncommon by any means. I don't know exactly why Eclipse Gate reacted in such a way, but I suspect it is largely to do with the fact that it was used in a way that it was never intended to be. If what you are saying is true, if the Edolas world has come to ours, then the cracks between worlds may already be bigger than I had feared…"

"Then we put this right," Gray said, determination in his eyes as he only heard the one message that he had been crying from the beginning. "We use the Eclipse Gate again, recreate my world. Send me back, and undo what this world has done to mine."

"It may not be that simple…" Ultear spoke softly, grabbing the blade and quickly yanking it out of the ice. The 'universe' collapsed suddenly under the violent release, crumpling into a glittering pile of shards.

Gray took a step back, the reality suddenly sinking in. The world was on the brink of collapse, not only his own world, but the world that he was standing in. The people that were staring back at him, the few friends that he had made along the way, the nakama that his counterpart had held dearly. Suddenly the idea of getting home and protecting his family seemed small compared to the broken world that lay at their feet. He swallowed hard. "So what do we do?"

Ultear wished that she had a more convincing answer. Even with years of studying, Time magic was still an ancient art and most of its secrets had been lost in the ages. "I need to see the Eclipse Gate. If I can find a way of modifying the magic used within it, I may be able to create another gate, one that can restore this world to its true path. But we can't wait an entire year to use it. And I need all of your help." Both Gray and Lyon stepped forwards with protests against their lips, but she pushed them both back with a serious glare. " _All_ of you. That includes Lamia Scale. After all, is there anyone that can perform the Moon Drip ceremony more skilfully?"

Yuka, Toby, Sherry and Lyon seemed to physically recoil back at the unpleasant reminder. "Moon Drip?" Lyon asked through gritted teeth.

Ultear nodded swiftly. "We don't have _time_ to wait for another moon eclipse. We can only hope that Moon Drip may have the same affects."

"'Hope'? 'May'?" Gray's eyes flickered up suddenly.

Ultear bit her lip, realising that her confidence had not been as powerful as she may have hoped. "Nothing of this scale has ever been achieved before. As I say, I need to see the Eclipse Gate for myself before I can even say if it is possible or not…" she said, though she knew that failure simply wasn't an option. The news that Edolas had already fallen into their world only filled her with dread and urgency and the potential spell to correct the universe was growing more complicated by the second. She could not let the world collapse around her.

* * *

 **Hey!**

 **Sorry, I totally pulled a typical Fairy Tail 'hey look they're totally dead haha not really', didn't I? I swear the next time someone dies it'll be for reals this time. Not sure if that's a good thing or not.**

 **Also, this chapter is very... explanationy haha. Sorry, has to be done. Ultear is the gal.**

 **OH AND THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME OVER 50 REVIEWS I LOVE YOU GUYS! YOU ALL ROCK SO MUCH!**


	17. Tartaros Prologue

The sky rained fire. Ash and debris swallowed the earth where huge structures of sturdy marble had once stood, fires blazing unshielded without a single soul remaining to quell their destructive path. The smell of death felt like home to the grinning demon, decay filling him with an inexplicable nostalgia and closeness to his master. Jackal looked down upon the terror that he reigned with pride, eyes scanning over the broken remains of bodies and the lingering remnants of broken spells drifting through the air. The Magic Council hadn't been as much of a challenge as he would have hoped and he had almost been a little disappointed with how easily the pillar of strength had fallen beneath his curses, but he could feel power emanating from the torn walls even as he crouched on the highest vantage point, eyes flicking against the deadly flames as he weighed the potential of magical energy and his own beloved curses.

It was silent except from the crackling fires and occasional shifting rockslide, so his keen hearing had picked up the slayer approaching him from quite some distance away. The truth was that Jackal had known that the mysterious man had been watching for quite some time, but he had never been one to shy from an audience to his true strength. "Absolute Zero," he played with the name on his tongue, smirking at the ridiculousness of his title.

Silver paused beside him, watching the desolation before him and trying to feel even the smallest hint of the pleasure Jackal obviously felt. Instead, he felt physically sickened, bodies falling over one another in a charred bloodbath. Although elements were different, he couldn't help but be reminded of his own demise at the hands of his own demonic destructor. It had been a reminder that had been forced upon him time and time again since his resuscitation and joining Tartarus, and the knowledge that his son had survived the onslaught had only awakened the voice inside of him that reminded him how wrong this was. "Impressive," he grunted reluctantly as he folded his arms across his chest, realising that he had been staring for too long to say nothing.

Jackal looked at his wasteland, pride glimmering in his eyes as he did so. "I didn't expect to see you here. I thought that you were babysitting the newbie," he asked, glancing at the huge man out of the corner of his eye.

"I was," Silver said offhandedly, another sharp reminder of his cold darkness that he could not dispose of. "She was too weak. We had to dispose of her."

"Weak?" Jackal looked back in curiosity, remembering the strikingly haunting woman that they had pulled from a neighbouring dark guild. She had been one of the most impressive candidates that they had found in some time and he vaguely recalled that while human she had been related to their latest demonic creation. "Kyôka had said she showed promise. It's not like her to be wrong about these kinds of things."

Silver frowned. "She did. I had seen her in the Grand Magical Games. She had possessed incredible powers," he said, desperately trying to push aside the images of his son and the victorious cries that had erupted as he wore his victim's hat, trying only to focus on the strange woman that had possessed spatial magical energy. "The demonification process must have affected her magic somehow. It didn't transfer into curse power. She was useless."

"Man, Lamy can be such a fuck-up," Jackal rolled his eyes, remembering the strangest of creations that the overeager bunny girl had come back with. "Still, I don't get why you even went to those stupid games. Human's tearing each other apart and pretending that they have anything that can even be considered strength?" he cackled to himself.

Silver ignored his words and instead looked back out to the carnage before him, the poor woman's screams still in the back of his mind. She had begged for another chance, there had been true terror in her eyes as she tried to grasp her magical energy only to find herself powerless to her new cursed body. It would be about now that Sabretooth would be opening their guild doors to the twisted body of their loved lady, crying out for revenge and desperately searching for clues for who had caused her destruction. He stopped himself from imagining the details, eyes catching something moving beyond the wavering reds and oranges. His eyebrows raised in surprise. "You missed a spot…" he remarked.

Jackal had already caught sight of the lone council member as he dashed across the broken world, a frown on his face at Silver's tone. "I didn't say I was _finished_ ," he hissed, rising back to his feet and jumping down into the void below.

Mest was crawling across the desolation, his eyes wide. This place had been his shelter, giving him so much more than just an occupation. The Magic Council had been his life, the bodies beside him had been the closest of friends, and the tears flowed freely from his eyes. It was too horrific to believe. He turned on the spot, the blood from some injury blurring his vision into red but not taking away the painful image of his best friend lying still before him. "Lahar… Hang in there! Lahar!"

He crouched beside him, pulling back the dark-haired council member and turning him over. "This… can't be!" he called out, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. They had been talking only moments before. Every one of the men and women beside him had been discussing the fate of the world, as they had a thousand times over, and through good fortune alone he was still standing while their hearts had stopped beating. "No way… Is anyone still alive?!" he cried out, desperate for some hope.

He was knocked suddenly backwards as another pillar crashed into the ground, the ripping force sending him back onto his chest. He squinted through the darkness, certain that he had heard his name through the explosions. Then, in the briefest moment of relief, he could see two eyes staring at him still filled with life. "Org!" he called out, letting himself smile for the briefest of moments before he saw a dark hand slamming his colleague's head straight back into the ground.

"No, no," Jackal sniggered as he pushed the 2nd seat council member deeper into the cracked marble. "Letting you live is not an option. Assassinating all nine of the senate members is our directive, after all." He grinned mischievously, feeling the life beneath his fingertips and licking his lips in anticipation as he prepared to extinguish it. Killing had never been so much fun. "Explode."

"S-Stop!" Mest called out, trying to pull himself up.

"Doran-bolt…" the elder's voice was already wavering, his body crumpling beneath himself but refusing to let his last act be one of cowardice. "Run…"

Mest could feel his heart racing in his chest, as if beating harder to push through all the silent hearts around him. Around him was death and destruction, before him was the man that had causing his entire world to be torn away from him, and beneath the twisted black hand was one last life to save. "I… I cannot!" he screamed, determined though he could barely stand.

"Think of what will happen if we lose you as well…" his elder warned him, pleading softly with his last breaths.

Jackal only grinned wider, the heart-wrenching display between the comrades only making his powers quiver in anticipation, barely able to restrain himself from ending the moment too quickly to enjoy his victory. "Running is not an option," he cackled, the light growing around his black arm. "Not from my explosions."

"Go! Doran-bolt!" Org yelled at the top of his lungs, the bright glow overcoming him as he could feel death creep closer.

"My name is Jackal, one of the nine demon gates of Tartarus," he grinned, staring back at the scarred man before him and silently challenging him to try and run from him, to continue the game of cat and mouse. The cat would always win. "Remember that in hell… as the name of the man who massacred the entire senate."

Panic rested in Org's eyes as he realised that Mest still had not moved, and the demon before him was coaxing him to attack. He knew that he had the heart of a fighter, had the kindness to care about every one of the men and women that lay still around him, and knew beyond all measure that if the young man fought against the demon then he would die. "Live! Live and carry out your own sense of justice, Doran-bolt!" he yelled, seeing tears in the young man's eyes as the light began to engulf them both.

Mest could not run. He felt the magic rippling through the air, felt the urgency of his elder's words, felt the darkness consume him and he could not run. His legs would not have carried him far, his heart was beating too fast to give him strength, but most importantly his magic was failing him. Tears ran down his face, staring up at the twisted sadist before him and knowing that he was powerless to escape. He might have cursed himself for not warning the council sooner, for letting hope rest in Org's last words as he truly believed that Mest had the power to survive. But as the blinding energy consumed him, he knew it wouldn't have made a difference. He would be just one more victim to the Magic Council massacre.

* * *

Far away in the city of Crocus, the beautiful green-haired princess stared upon her kingdom. The words of the terrible fate had been uttered softly by one of her servants and she had bid them to let her grieve the terrible fate of her kingdom, but a stronger determination rested in her eyes. She knew that the world was filled with pain, she had watched too many of her beloved citizens tear each other to pieces, and she wanted nothing more than to give her father a peaceful world to reign. She had been promised a world without suffering, a world without dark guilds, and it had been shattered before her eyes. Hearing the news that 120 innocent men and women had been slaughtered only acted as a painful reminder to the failure she had already endured. 120 lives that may have saved if she had obliterated Zeref.

She stared out across her kingdom, hearing the soft rattle of armour as Arcadios approached her as gently as he could while in the huge garments. Yukino hovered by his side, far more silent, her eyes wider and more innocent. The Knight cleared his throat, as if he needed to make his presence known despite his heavy footsteps, but the princess struggled to take her eyes from the world before her. Her hands rested against the balcony, refusing to raise them and show the world how much she was shaking. "How far has the work on the Eclipse Gate come?" she asked the wind.

Arcadios and Yukino exchanged frowns, trying to hide their concerns. "Your Majesty, there has been news-" Arcadios began.

"I have heard the news," she said, quite certain that from the strained tone in her voice and the paleness in her cheeks that he would know they were talking of the same devastation. She could not bear another person to mention the death-toll and the heavy weight it bore on her chest. "I… was _informed_ that this would happen."

Yukino took a stumbling step back. "Y-Your Majesty…?"

Hisui's lip trembled but her heart felt unwavering. "A _certain person_ approached me yesterday. The Stranger claimed to be from the future and had seen the power of Eclipse. Obviously, I was sceptical, but… I was told an impossible outcome. I was told the entire Magical Council would be wiped from the face of Fiore in a single attack by one solitary demon. I had not believed it, but it was of course my duty to warn them. Of course, the Magic Council didn't believe me either…" she whispered, her chest feeling heavy as she told herself that she should have had more conviction to her words, that she should have tried her hardest to save even a single soul from the devastating attack that had crippled Fiore.

The heavy knight took several steps forward, standing beside the hurting princess and wishing that he could offer some comfort instead of more cold calculations. "How can you be certain they weren't a part of the attack?"

Hisui looked down, her green hair falling over her face. "Why would anyone warn us of an attack that they were placing?" she breathed, and shook her head. "No. I'm certain, no one alive could have foreseen such power. No one would have believed it. And… that voice… I believe has seen those terrible things…" she wrapped her arms around herself, fighting the biting cold wind but refusing to step inside. "We cannot waste time, Arcadios. The Eclipse Gate cannot wait, and we must prepare ourselves to change history."

* * *

 ***cough* Well, you know what I said about characters staying dead, right?**

 **I'm HOPING that I can finish this story by the end of the week. It may be a bit of a stretch, but if you see binge posting its because I'm desperately binge writing to try and finish this up haha**


	18. S-Class

"You look a real mess, Lucy," Natsu said, hands on his sides and leaning closer to the blond woman. He blinked, eyes running over her face and trying to work out where her innocent beautiful had disappeared to. The celestial wizard was worn; huge black bags rested permanently under her eyes and droplets of sweat against her brow that had not disappeared for days. She had spent hours brushing her hair but it looked more unkempt than ever, every morning finding more split ends twisted into her hairbrush. She could only murmur absently at the dragon slayer, wishing that she could only close her eyes and sleep for an eternity. Sickness clawed inside of her stomach and she could only hope that her strength would return soon, and more importantly that her spirits would return, too.

"Natsu's right, Lucy, you look really ugly," Happy said tactfully.

"There's no need to rub it in!" Lucy yelled at Happy, suddenly finding the energy to scold the cat. Her paleness and bloodshot eyes only made her appearance even more terrifying despite her weakness. For a split second as every hair on the small cat's frame stood on end, his tail straightening as he looked at the terrifying Lucy.

Lucy herself did not raise a finger. Instead the small celestial spirit walked over the table, shaking more than usual with his arms outstretched and an adorably angry look on his face. Plue fell flat on his face in front of the exceed, however, unable to even walk the distance to his victim.

Lucy's face crumpled in sadness, a sigh passing her lips as she reached out and put a comforting hand on the back of Plue's head, feeling what could only be described as a purr through her fingertips. "I feel like a mess… But I know that Plue is suffering too, so I have to be brave for him…" she admitted, her voice cracking as she did so, looking back at her spirit with the deepest of sympathy.

Loke's warning had been correct; even the smallest of celestial spirits had been a constant drain against her body and now she craved nothing more than relief. She had felt her spirits exhausting her in previous fights, especially when she had summoned more than one at once, but Plue's presence had been so small that she had barely even felt his tug against her magical energy before the end of the first day. She had collapsed into bed the first night, crying herself to sleep as she held onto the one remaining spirit and the keys of the friends she held dear. She called to them, begged them to break through the terrifying void and fill her once more with their hope and love. When she woke the next day and Plue was still in her arms she felt as if she had been running all night and since then the magical drain only worsened. Now, several days later, she craved sleep, rest, recharging. She had tried everything, trying every day to send the creature back to his own world, spending hours upon hours meditating in the hopes to expand her magical container wide enough to endure her new torture.

"There's got to be something we can do," Natsu said, his eyes once again flashing in optimistic determination.

Lucy shook her head, tears in her eyes. It had been so hard to shield her tears recently, even if she had heard these words a thousand times already. "Loke said there was nothing we could do. He said that he didn't know what was happening. I don't know what's happening either. I wish that I did…" she said, hoping that if she spoke the words enough times that somehow an answer would magically present itself. She had faced hardships before, they had come close to dying, she had felt the cold hand of death across her own heart, but every single time that she had fought terror and danger there had at least been something she could achieve, however impossible or unreachable it seemed. Now all she could do was sit and wait for an eternity. "I just… wish I could do _something_ , Natsu…" she whimpered.

Natsu's frown deepened, knowing the feeling that she was experiencing. The guildhall was otherwise bounding with life but there was something missing, a vital piece of energy that had been dissolved around him. While Fairy Tail remained cheerful and hopeful, his own team was falling apart around him. He couldn't even suggest pulling them onto one of their loved missions while Lucy was clearly weakened and he didn't even know where the remaining half of his companions were.

Before he could truly consider where his teammates had scattered to, the huge guild doors suddenly slammed open. "This is bad news!" Droy and Jet both yelled as they rushed inside, holding onto the papers with terrifying news as they fell over each other to explain the devastation that had happened in Era.

There had been one hundred and twenty casualties in Era that day. The Magic Council, which had both protected them and made their lives exceptionally difficult, had been obliterated in a single attack. The name Tartarus was on everyone's lips, the looks glancing back and forth between the Fairy Tail members as they discussed the new dark guild that had been swallowing the world whole. The news came as a painful shock to all, the horror that such a formidable force had stumbled into the world was overwhelming. Every guildmate tried to think back to the council members that had helped them, the people that they had feared now lay among the dead, the pain that they would have had to endure.

As Erza left the guild, Natsu was still kicking and screaming revenge. They talked vaguely of plans, determination and the power of Fairy Tail against the force the world knew so little about, but Erza couldn't bring herself to stay and whisper around in circles. She fell into the busy crowds of Magnolia, letting the despair wash over her and melting into the murmurs of citizens that felt helpless under the weight of the growing threat.

It didn't take her long to realise that she was being followed. It took longer to realise who by.

She casually began to take lefts instead of rights, her footsteps leading away from the general populace and away from the heart of the city that she loved. She nodded politely to the few strangers, offered the gentlest of touches to conversation to those who wished her well, but felt her heart beating faster and faster as the people became more scattered and distant. At first her directions had been taken in fear, knowing that she couldn't allow a fight in such a crowded place without risking innocent lives. Then, as she began to realise the familiarity of the steps behind her, she knew it was so the innocent people could not risk their own lives by starting an attack. She turned the final corner and finally glanced back to the heavily cloaked man, eyes softening. "Mystogan."

"Mystogan?" the man questioned as he stepped forwards, pushing back his black hood gently and letting the briefest inch of light rest against his pale face and bright red facial tattoo.

The look of shock was written across Erza's face for only the briefest of moments before it folded back into a smile. Of course, this was the familiar dark robe of the Crime Sorcerie, the eyes that looked upon her desperately searching for eternal forgiveness. "Jellal, of course," she breathed, nodding as she leaned back against the wall and let herself soak in his presence. "Sorry, it's been a confusing few weeks…" she admitted, her hand on her forehead.

Jellal frowned, walking to stand in front of the requip wizard. "It sounds it," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "Were you expecting to see Mystogan again?"

Erza's eyes faded, trying not to focus on the differences between the two similar looking mages. She didn't have the energy to explain when there were so many more pressing matters. "Not particularly," she side-stepped as briefly as she could, turning her gaze once more to focus at the challenge in front of her. "It's dangerous for you to be in crowds, Jellal. You must have a good reason for being here," she observed, wanting both for him to be safe and for him to be beside her, an impossible contradiction.

The alleyway submerged into silence as Jellal thought of his motivations and which were the most believable or true. He had wanted to be by Erza's side, wanted to explain the complications that had happened in their last meeting and the kiss that had almost been exchanged. He wanted to ensure his excuses had held true and that she was able to be happy without him, but he knew to ask these things would defeat the point of his refusal. He wouldn't have been here at all if not for the other concerns. "Have you heard the news from Sabretooth?" he questioned lightly.

With all the panic over the explosions of Era, Erza hadn't. She shook her head.

Understanding the impending concerns, he folded his arms across his chest. "Lady Minerva was found dead outside of the Sabretooth guildhall at roughly the same time as the attack on the Magic Council."

Erza's eyes suddenly grew wide. She had been her rival, her enemy, but she would have never wished death upon the haunting lady. She tried desperately to regain her composure but the horrors of the last few weeks had been clearly taking their toll against her. "Do you think its connected?" she questioned sharply.

Jellal nodded without hesitation. "She was found with… demonic modifications, and the emblem of Tartarus across her waist," he informed her. "I don't know much about Tartarus but Meredy told me all she could. They are a guild that has been made entirely of demons and they have been destroying rival dark guilds for some time, though their power has been growing since Grimiore Heart and Oración Seis disbanded. Unfortunately, Meredy didn't know much more than that. We believe Ultear is trying to uncover more information but…" his words trailed off, unable to hide the deep concern in his eyes.

Erza recognised the look across his face as one that had been on her own for several days. "You don't know where she's gone," she nodded in understanding.

Jellal hesitated but eventually gave into his concerns. "She hasn't contacted our guild for some time, and I'm afraid that she may not know how to. We have to keep complete secrecy in order to survive but that means even our own members may struggle to reunite. I know that there are people in Fairy Tail that she trusts, and that she knows that we trust," he said, choosing his words incredibly carefully. "If you meet her, I need you to pass on a message."

The corners of Erza's lips pulled up ever so slightly, trying to find more meaning to Jellal's 'trust' than she should have. She agreed quickly, taking the small paper that Jellal handed to her while desperately ignoring the softness of his touch, focussing instead on her own reservations. "If I contact her, I'll be certain to pass this on, but if Ultear is going to contact anyone in Fairy Tail I suspect it will be Gray, and… we don't know where he is either."

Jellal saw the ache inside of her, saw something crumbling in her words and knew that there was more than what she was saying. "What happened?"

Her back hit the wall, arms folded across her chest protectively as she turned away. "He and Wendy left several days ago," she whispered. "Juvia says that she saw them going to the train station, but they haven't taken a mission or let anyone know where they are going or for how long. We suspect that Gray is searching for Tartarus too, we have reason to believe that his father is connected to the guild, but he hasn't exactly been acting himself recently. It just feels like we're being picked off one by one…" she said, more fear in her voice than she had ever intended to slip out.

Jellal's arms were on hers, though the supposedly comforting touch was having the opposite desired effect. "I had heard rumours…" he said, his voice barely audible even to her when his breath was close enough to feel. "Rumours of difficulties with spatial magic… Requip magic…"

She froze, every muscle in her body instantly tense. Her heart was beating fast under her thick metal armour and it wasn't only because of the closeness of the blue-haired mage. He could feel her fading strength and although she counted him as one of her most loved allies she would never truly be able to shake the instincts that he was a potential enemy, and knowing that he could so easily see her new weaknesses filled her with terror. The heavy sword felt unfamiliar hanging from her side instead of in the magical world, rattling in its sheath as she couldn't help but shiver beneath Jellal. Her wide eyes eventually found his, showing the truth and the fears that she could not put into words, the horrific feeling of being left in a world of weakness. "I…" she tried to speak but the words failed her, just like everything else in the world. Two of her friends were missing, one of which had become a broken version of himself that she was couldn't repair. Lucy had become weaker with every passing moment, her life passing before their eyes. Even Natsu seemed lost and distant. And Erza was powerless to save her friends.

"How touching." The woman's soft voice caused both Jellal and Erza to suddenly turn, pushing off one another and turning to their weaponry and magic as the threat loomed before them. The stunningly beautiful woman walked casually forwards, a smirk across her lips as she looked upon the pair, eyes resting finally against the ex-Council member. She would have almost appeared harmless if not for the pounding dark energy emanating from her curved frame and the two dazzling golden horns wrapped through her long black hair. "I had not expected this to be a love story," she whispered with every step, "However, this will soon become a tragedy. There can be no happy ending."

Both wizards gritted their teeth, once more prepared for a sudden battle. "Who are you?" Erza hissed, hand gripping the hilt of her sword. This could have not come at a worse time.

The woman had a soft smile on her face that may have almost seemed innocent. "My name is Seilah, I am one of the nine gates of Tartarus… but it is him you should be concerned with right now," she said, gesturing to the cloaked man.

Erza looked at Jellal, panicked as she wondered what terrifying magic that the demon was unleashing upon the man she cared for. Jellal's hands were gripping and ungripping, a sweat-drop running down his forehead with a terrifying expression written across his face. Then, suddenly, he turned to Erza and her eyes went wide. His hands were moving before him, his body tensing and despite all of his best efforts he had turned his attacking pose straight towards the failing requip wizard.

"He is your enemy now," Seilah said, her eyes glittering as the heavenly magic erupted through the streets of Magnolia.

X

Erza's boots had been blown to pieces. Her armour was dinted and falling off her. The sword by her side was useless against the divine enemy. The creature from her nightmares. The tears streaming down her face were those of a child's, a tiny version of herself that was thrown to the wolves by the blue-haired man. She didn't want to hurt him, she just wanted to save him, but he was throwing attack after attack in her direction and protecting the demonic figure that controlled him. All she could for now was run, but there came a new panic in the knowledge that they were moving closer into the city centre. Every time that she tried to steer them towards the forests or rivers she was blown backwards, shepherded towards the innocent civilians that would suffer once more under the terror of a possessed Jellal.

A flicker of static through the air sent a burst of hope through her body. A familiar smirk crossed her face as she saw the electrical dragon roar narrowly missing its intended target and come hurtling down the street straight towards the requip wizard. She dove sideways at the last minute, twisting around and staring at the path of the deadly energy. Jellal, too, sidestepped the huge yellow path of electricity, and it drove straight into the demon behind him. Siehal let out a terrified scream, dropping to her knees.

"Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow, get Yujima to safety," Laxus said, wiping the back of his mouth as he stared at his opponent, already sizing him up and deciding that this was too difficult a battle to risk the former council member.

"Laxus!" Erza called to him, "These are demons of Tartarus! The same demons that destroyed the Magic Council! They must be going for former council members too."

Laxus looked up, seeing the female demon in the distance suffering from the lucky misplaced attack, a cloaked figure that Erza was helping to his feet, and the target before him. They had been assured that this would be an easy mission, to help with the quiet restaurant of the former council member after several days chasing beasts and demons across half of Fiore. That was before Laxus returned to a vicious attack against his comrades and against the kind old man. "I don't need any more reason to kick their asses," he said gripping his fists, staring at the monster in front of him.

"Jellal… Are you…?" Erza looked upon him, trying to stare into his eyes before she could fully trust him but unable to help herself from pulling him up.

"I-I'm fine. I'm no longer… no longer… under control…" he said with a whisper, though he was breathing so heavily it almost swallowed his words. He could still feel the spirals of darkness through his mind, the way that the suggestions had clicked so easily into place inside of his history, and his suffering had felt painfully fitting. Becoming the darkness had always been terrifyingly easier than fighting against it, but now that someone else had wrapped their tendrils around his mind he was left shaking. Shaking with a hot anger. His eyes flew back to the enemy demon, gaze pinned against her as she walked to stand closer to her fellow 'gate'.

The destruction of the city had scared off most of the nearby citizens, but there were more that were becoming attracted to the unbelievable event. Whispers of the three S-Class wizards fighting alongside each other was unprecedented, partnered with even more whispers of how the absent 'Mystogan' had once again appeared in Magnolia, and for a select few to witness the once in a lifetime event was worth risking their all.

"Seihal," the strange looking brute of a demon said with a small nod of recognition to the horned female. "You have a good choice of targets. Who will you be controlling?"

"It certainly is quite a selection, Tempester. Three S-Class wizards…" she said without breaking the serious look upon her face, folding her arms against her chest and feeling her body repair from the original stun of the dragon slayer roar. She tilted her head back, examining each of the wizards in turn for her powerful Macro magic. "I choose the girl."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Jellal screamed at the top of his voice, feet pounding as he lunged forwards.

"Very well," Tempester agreed with a nod to his fellow demon, not at all surprised that she had chosen a female to control. "Then I will refrain from killing her before the others," he said, ignoring Seilah's soft giggles as he dove in front of her and took the full force of Jellal's heated attacks.

Erza could feel the macro instantly. She could feel the grip against her soul, the twisted feeling inside her chest. Her eyes bulged wide in disbelief, breathing heavy and trying to hide away the terrified child she had felt inside of her. She was being controlled, manipulated. Her sword was gripping hard against her hand. In a blur before her, Jellal and Laxus were throwing flurried attacks that were being wrapped into fierce winds. There was screaming, shouting, battle cries, and she was frozen helplessly fighting the demons inside of her, the clawing through her mind.

Her sword lifted and poised, ready to pounce. The air ran in and out of her chest. Jellal was fighting, a desperation in his eyes to protect the woman that had fallen by his hand. Laxus was doing all he could to push every one of the dangerous attacks away from the growing crowds, diverting the battle to the broken remnants of the restaurant. But Siehal's eyes burned through Erza's vision wherever she looked, her instincts overtook her, the darkness blocked her vision.

 _'I almost forgot…'_ a small whisper of light came through the darkness of the macro. _'It isn't my magic that makes me strong. It's my friends. It's the people that I care for. It's the people who care for me.'_ Weeks of untapped magical energy brimmed inside of her, twisting around her feet and pushing light back through her body. The demon was taking a step backwards, the shock written across all their faces as the pounding energy rippled through the air. "I will not be controlled!" Erza yelled, running forwards, feeble sword in hand, broken armour falling from her body, and in a single blow sliced through the Tartarus demon.

Seihal crumpled to the floor.

There were sudden cheers from the crowds and Erza looked with wide eyes to see that they had not been the only Fairy Tail wizards here. More and more of their nakama were flooding the streets, excited at the Raijinshū's arrival at the guild and hurried explanation of the S-Class team up. They had done all they could to protect the citizens that had been staring in wide eyed wonder, diverting as many innocent lives from the area as possible and were only now in enough close enough and secure enough to land their own attacks.

"Did you see Erza?"

"She didn't even have to change out of her armour!"

"She's really strong!"

However, their victory was only partial. Tempester was no fool. He knew that the odds were stacked against him and he was powerless against the full force of the Fairy Tail guild. There was, however, one last trick up his sleeve. "We didn't predict humans could be this powerful… I couldn't predict this damage. I'll have to die once."

Laxus was the only one close enough to hear his foreboding whispers, staring down at the twisted half-humanoid figure. The creature was clearly out-numbered but Laxus had fought him for long enough to know he was still a significant threat. "Die? What are you saying?" he questioned, ready to beat the answers out of him if necessary.

"You've got the wrong opponent, human. That is what I mean," he said, closing his eyes. Suddenly, his body froze. The demon gritted its teeth, seeming to struggle with himself, only gaining the confused looks from the dragon slayer. His body was not obeying him, his eyes eventually able to glance to the direction of the twisted restraints directly behind him.

Mirajane's claw was against the fallen female's shoulder, black marks running up her arms as her cracked skin sweated. She held out a hand towards the second gate of hell, eyes burning black and her voice strained even as she gave a grin. "You thought you could have an S-Class battle without me?" she said, glaring playfully at Laxus as he could only look in disbelief. She could feel the sheer power of Seihal beneath her fingertips, the demonic takeover twisting through her body and growing more powerful by the second. Her target was also powerful, however, and she had no idea what he was truly capable of. "I'm using her macro to control him, but I can't hold it for long," she warned them, her breath falling short as she tried to focus both on taking the power and controlling the formidable force. Her eyes flashed dangerously, challenging her favourite dragon slayer with a small smile. "Give 'em hell, Laxus."

* * *

 **So apparently we have a sudden fight scene!? I hope this all makes sense as it does tie in a lot with canon. Also, it's nice to see that just because something goes one way in canon doesn't mean I'll give it more angst in my world. (sorry if there are more typos than usual. I haven't exactly proofread this while, uh, sober)**

 **Guest; Thanks for your review! Always very much appreciated :3 And hahaha I like your idea of Zeref's, uh, revenge I guess?  
**

 **A couple of people have questioned now what would happen with the world where both Zeref and Natsu live. If anyone wants to write this, be my guest, and please PM me since I'd love to see it! As Kori no Koibito said, it would be unfortunately sad as there would be no Gratsu haha**

 **Oh and I'm not American but I guess you can have a happy thanksgiving if y'all want? I am still very much hoping that this story will be finished by the end of the week. Wish me luck? What would you like to see? What are you dreading? Let me know!**


	19. Traitor

A war was erupting between the dark guild and the light and both sides were evidently unaware of the greater threat that was looming.

Lucy looked down at the letter that rested in her hand, a small frown on her face as she tried to focus on what should have been obvious. The letter had arrived to the guildhall only moments after the battle between the two demon gates and the four S-Class wizards, though if it had arrived a moment later Lucy may not have had the strength or companions to act upon Yukino's sudden request. Lucy had been trying to contact Yukino for some time now as the only celestial wizard that she knew remaining, but her letters had been more desperate once she had been warned of the celestial world's shift from their own. It had been days with no response and just as Lucy was beginning to lose hope, there had finally been the delivery of crisp black handwriting that she had prayed for, though the instructions were vague and unclear. They were to discuss further in the royal palace of Crocus and nothing more was hinted.

The master's advice was still ringing in Lucy's head as she stared back at the letter, replaying his words over and over again but she still felt as if she was missing something from them:

 _"We cannot discount that your celestial magic and the rise of Tartarus may be connected. Mirajane has already revealed that they plan to destroy magic; your powers may be the first of many. If Yukino has summoned you to the Royal Palace to discuss this, then you must go. With the collapse of the Magic Council, many of their responsibilities fall upon the law of the land and we cannot afford to be anything but allies with the Royal Family."_

She sighed, feeling her body trembling once more. It was a large responsibility to carry from just a simple desperate letter from her fellow celestial wizard and for a moment she wished that she could be with the rest of the guild, rushing across the country in attempts to protect and save the former council members that Yujima and Jellal had given them directions to. The crushing thought wouldn't leave her chest, knowing that they had sent her to Crocus because she was too weak without her spirits to protect anyone. If anything, she was the one that needed protection now, she thought with some sadness as she glanced back to her companions, though she couldn't deny that she was relieved they were by her side.

And, of course, she always had Plue to protect her.

As if hearing her thoughts, the small rounded creature climbed onto her lap and curled up beside her. Gently she rested her hand against his head, whispering "It's OK, Plue. I'll send you home soon, I promise." The spirit shivered in delight and Lucy felt herself smile gently. She was around good company, close friends, and if not for the sickening feeling in her stomach she may have felt that this was just any other journey. She tried to merge herself back in the conversation, realising that the others had been talking for some time and her attention had been fleeting.

"…If Gray has a lead on Silver and our own guild is hunting Tartarus then they will cross paths," Erza continued, her voice sounding worrying like she was trying to convince herself.

"Yeah, even Gray's not enough of an idiot to try and take on the entire Tartarus by himself," Natsu said, his words half lost as he quickly shovelled his mouth full of the food, enjoying all of the delicacies of the capital city.

"He's not by himself," Happy corrected. "He has Wendy and Carla with him!"

"And that makes even less sense," Erza said, her fingers drumming the table awkwardly and staring at the meal that she couldn't bring herself to eat. Being beside Happy, Lucy and Natsu only made her more concerned for the missing members, the frown of concern deeply embedded onto her features. "Natsu, you were the last one to spend any time with Gray. How was he?"

Natsu's eyes went wide, suddenly pinned to the spot. It wasn't something that he ever liked to think of. Gray generally wasn't something he liked to think of. "Oh! Erm… weird I guess," he shrugged, picking up his bowl to continue eating and move away from the conversation.

"Weird how?" Erza pressed.

"Natsu and Gray didn't fight once!" Happy said, looking both impressed and horrified at the same time. "And Gray wore clothes the whole time!"

The girls both looked at Happy in complete shock and disbelief.

"Huh, yeah, I guess I didn't notice how weird _that_ was…" Natsu said thoughtfully, remembering the journey that they had taken through the forests before they had met with Edolas and Silver. He couldn't help but fixate on knowing that Gray had done everything in his power to avoid him since then and how troubling it was that that had been the last time that anyone had truly spoken to him. "I don't know, he was just generally not acting himself. But then I don't think any of us have been since Eclipse," he admitted, looking at the two girls and seeing that they knew exactly what he was talking about. "Wendy seemed OK though."

Erza suddenly stood, leaving her meal abandoned in favour of the new task at hand. "Then it's settled. We meet Yukino and the royal family, and if we haven't heard from Gray and Wendy before then, we will make it our number one priority to bring him home."

"Aye!"

With that sense of urgency and determination, even Natsu couldn't complain at leaving the meal before it finished - though Happy did put up a little more of a fight to be parted from his fish.

* * *

Even without the sights and sounds from the Grand Magical Games, the Capital city was still a beauty to behold with distractions on every corner threatening to take them away from the mission at hand. Lucy's slow walk did not help them avoid the many glorious sights and sounds, though she was too tired to take in much of the atmosphere. The huge looming castle was unmistakeable and made for an easy target, slipping through the fantastically complex gardens.

"Lucy!" came a whisper from beneath the bushes.

Lucy had been so caught in her own daydream that she had barely noticed the hiss before Natsu took her elbow and pointed. She looked blankly for a second, before realising that she was staring at three familiar faces crouching in the garden shadows. "Levy?" she blinked, stepping forwards. She let out the smallest shriek as the script mage, iron dragon slayer and black exceed pulled their company into the shadows with them, gesturing for them all to keep their voices down as they nervously glanced towards the nearest guard. Lucy brought her voice down to a whisper, leaning forwards. "Levy, what are you doing here? I thought you were with the Edolas Fairy Tail…"

Gajeel and Levy exchanged a look, as Levy sighed and quickly explained. "I told you that we were searching for a magical device which finds foreign objects, right?" she said. The blond nodded quickly. "Well, we found it," she said, pulling out a strange flat panel which glowed at her fingertips. Expertly, she ran her fingers over the magical creation, frowning gently in concentration as she tried to bring her readings in a way for the others to understand. "There's something – or some _one_ \- inside the castle. From what I can tell from the readings its very likely that they are being kept in the dungeons," she told them, bringing up a crude map across the stone panel in her hands and showing the faint green glowing light in the centre.

Lucy's eyes went wide, staring between her old companions in disbelief. She refused to believe that the kind-hearted royal family would so easily throw one of the Edolas residents into prison.

"Have you tried asking?" Erza asked, keen to point out the obvious paths.

"Tch. The royal bastards completely played innocent," Gajeel muttered, glancing back over to the giant looming doors in disgust. "And Jellal – _Mystogan_ – seems to think that they can't do anything else about it."

"Jellal _is_ technically a King of another country…" Levy argued for the Edolas man's sake, knowing that Gajeel was simplifying the complex political risks far too much. "He did ask, we approached the King and he either didn't know about it or was lying, but now their hands are completely tied. Mystogan said that if he or anyone else from Edolas was to be seen trying to break into the castle then it may even be viewed as an act of war."

"Oh I get it! You guys are going to break in instead then?" Natsu said, unintentionally loud.

Levy quickly hushed him with a finger on her lips and Gajeel gave him a reproachful look. "None of them know that we're here. If you guys are going into the castle, do you think that you could find some way to sneak us in?" Levy whispered.

Lucy looked stunned, the words faltering in her throat. She wanted to do everything that she could to help her friends, and to help Edolas, but they have been given very specific instructions that this was a political mission to the royal family. The last thing that Fairy Tail needed was to be seen as enemies of the state right now, especially when there was no Magic Council to overrule them.

"Someone's coming," Gajeel said suddenly, head pointed straight towards the direction that Lucy and her friends had come from only moments earlier, though it was clear it had not been his keen sight that had spotted the movements. He pushed his fellow dragon slayer's head down, burying his protests into the ground and doing nothing to hide the sadistic grin he had from doing so. Levy pulled herself and Lucy down far more gently, Lily and Happy crouching despite both being small enough to remain unseen in the bushes. Erza needed no one to tell her to continue hiding, eyes pinned straight to the castle walkway entrance.

Seven dark shapes walked across the cobbled pathway in near silence, eyes staring up at the glorious wonder of the beautiful castle in front of them, followed by a small white cat. "I have a bad feeling about this," Carla said quietly, glancing away as her fur ruffled.

Happy suddenly jumped up. He was pulled back down to the ground heavily by Lily who was trying everything in his power to stop the blue Exceed from crying out. The others too were watching with wide eyes from the shadows, the iron dragon slayer quickly pushing Natsu's face back down into the earth before he could cry out to the familiar faces before him.

Oblivious to the closeness to her hidden nakama, Wendy paused and looked back at the exceed in concern, realising that her dearest companion was taking each step slower than the last. "Carla, are your premonition powers working again?" she asked gently.

The cat's ears flattened, not appreciating the reminder of her faltering magic. "No. I can't see anything. I just feel that this is dangerous…" She glanced up, her black eyes shimmering in one last desperate beg for Wendy to finally see some sense. "You were promised a year to convince him. Now we have _days_. Do you really trust him so much?"

"Wendy," Gray's voice called over the gardens, a stern expression on his face as he watched her fall too far back.

Lucy gasped, ready to call out before Levy took her hand firmly, pointing towards the panel with a serious look.

Wendy halted, a torn look across her face. The door was now opening and she was staring between the path ahead and the exceed that held her back. "I do," she whispered determinedly to Carla. She trusted Gray despite everything. She desperately wanted to trust him. She trusted him more with every reveal of darkness and pain that came from his admissions, because every time that she saw his cracking confidence she felt herself closer to her missing nakama. "Come on," she urged her friend, running back over to the doorway and disappearing into the light inside.

Lily's hand was shaking by the time that he let go of Happy; the blue exceed had become surprisingly strong seeing Carla and had been doing everything he could to escape the black cat's grasp and rush straight to his obsession. Natsu jumped up the second that the door shut, staring back at the iron wielder with an furious look across his now bruised face. "What the hell's the big idea?!" he yelled at Gajeel, or at least tried to before finding that his words weren't making a sound at all.

Levy sighed as she finished her script magic, the word 'silence' now written across Natsu's mouth, although she knew that the magic wouldn't last long. "Sorry, we can't let you give us away," she apologised quickly, knowing that the mission was too important for a sudden dive from the shadows of the gardens.

Erza's eyes watched the doors carefully. "Ultear…" she realised as the image of the leading figure filled her mind, remembering her promise to Jellal. "And Lamia Scale. What are Gray and Wendy doing in the royal palace of all places?" she questioned, feeling even more confused by the disappearance than before.

"It's… not our Gray," Lucy whispered, looking back at Levy for confirmation of what she had seen. She gently pulled on the foreign object locator that Levy and Gajeel had been guarding closely, seeing the flashing green mark disappearing through the hallways of the great palace. She may not have believed it, but she had followed the light perfectly in time with the movements of the ice maker. "Is it Edo-Gray?" she tried to confirm with Levy.

Levy shook her head with certainty. "Definitely not. So, there must be other worlds…"

"How many Grays are there?!" Natsu mouthed in disbelief, still unable to speak out loud.

Erza knelt before them all, her eyes cold. She could see the single green dot across the screen while there had been seven people walking through the palace doors, many of which she would consider friends. "He hasn't been acting himself since Eclipse…" she found herself repeating the words under her breath, trying to piece together an impossible puzzle.

They only had time to exchange a shocked glance before the flutter of magical wings took their attention. "I'm afraid that it may be even worse than you feared," the white exceed said as she dropped to the ground in front of them, her jet black eyes staring at them each in turn.

"Carla!" Happy announced cheerfully, running over to her and trying to wrap his arms around her, his tail becoming snagged on one of the under-bushes and instead falling flat on his face at her feet.

"Carla, do you know what is happening?" Erza spoke quickly to the white exceed, surprised that no one had noticed the female exceed had been panicked enough to disappear from her dragon slayer at the last minute.

It was clear that the white cat was already struggling with her decision and it was taking her complete willpower to not fly straight through the nearest window and go back to Wendy's side, but she had seen without a doubt that she was powerless to persuade her dragon slayer to see her fears of the Fire Maker. The world was close to collapsing, that much Carla believed without a doubt, but she could not shake the feeling that Gray was only determined to save one world. "I do," she said, remembering her promise to Wendy that she would not tell a soul while Wendy vouched for him. But then, Gray had promised them a year, and so they had both betrayed their promises. "I'll explain everything."

* * *

 **For everyone who asked/begged me for Carla to tell the others... well here you go! (I honestly didn't see this coming!)**

 **Thanks for everyone's continued support! I've very almost finished writing this now, but there are obviously a LOT of loose ends and things will get pretty crazy from here out so if you have any questions or anything please just fire away!**

 **On that note, Zunifex mentioned something that I thought I'd clarify. In the last chapter, Erza doesn't have her requip magic back. She has magic, she never lost magic, but she still can't requip. Spatial magic is still very much broken.**

 **Anywho, enjoy the story :)**


	20. Kneel

They passed guard upon guard on the quiet steps through the hallways of the great palace. It seemed that the royal family had not taken the terrible incident that had happened in the Magic Council lying down and every single man and woman patrolling the corridors was on high alert. Ultear walked particularly stiffly, pulling the cloak further over her eyes in the hopes that they would at least be able to meet the princess before she was recognised as a criminal.

They were brought towards the huge plaza, the princess watching her kingdom from the balcony before her. Arcadios saluted the royalty as he stepped forward, announcing "Your Majesty… Gray Fullbuster has returned with his companions."

"Companions?" she asked the wind, glancing back at the dark-haired man before her and examining him from head to toe. She remembered every reluctance that she had had, every fear that she had felt as he had so easily betrayed the guild that he had only just fought for. Her eyes watched over each and every other member that he had brought before her, recognising their controversy and marvelling that she may have missed the signs if not for her Stranger. "You expect me to call your collection of criminals from Brago and Isvan companions? I would call them an army," she exclaimed, gesturing towards them all.

Gray's eyes grew wider, cursing himself for not having realised sooner how the company he now kept may seem to the Princess of Fiore. Yuka, Toby, Sherry and Sherria had been survivors of the onslaught of Deliora in Brago, while he, Lyon and Ultear had crossed the boarders from Isvan many years ago. Wendy was the only true citizen of Fiore, though even she had the jet-black hair of her eastern neighbours. "I assure you we are no army… And we are all citizens of Fiore…" he said, feeling that the fragile trust was instantly slipping through his fingers.

Hisui rose to her feet, examining them each in turn. She tried to appear confident and cold but she could feel her hands were shaking and a voice in the back of her mind truly wanted to believe the soft words that came from the wizards in front of her. She just wanted to believe the Stranger even more. "Then kneel before your princess," she uttered, her voice quiet and mumbling.

"W-what?" Gray whispered, looking back at his new companions uncertainly.

"Your princess said to _kneel_!" Yukino exclaimed, holding her glittering golden key into the air. The golden energy swallowed her, winds twisting around her as a dark-skinned beauty appeared within the vortex of magic and light. Libra's arms folded across her chest, her eyes slits over her silken mask as she summoned her powers across the world. Suddenly, the gravity shifted.

In overwhelming shock, each member of Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail and Crime Sorcerie fell not only to their knees but flat against the ground as the weight of air overpowered them. "Wha-What is this?!" Sherry cried out, desperately trying to pull herself from the ground before once again thrown back to the cold floor.

"Stop!" Ultear called out, summoning all her strength to look straight back to the celestial wizard and reach out her hand. "You don't understand how dangerous Celestial Magic is right now!" she gasped, despite her predicament caring deeply both for the celestial caster and for the world that she was threatening to destroy.

Yukino hesitated, gripping her key tightly and looking back to Libra. "Zodiac keys are given power by the Eclipse," she informed them, unable to even mention that every one of the silver keys that remained in her arsenal were now completely useless. "As long as the Eclipse is close I can use them freely."

"Eclipse… is complete…?" Ultear whispered in disbelief, staring back at the celestial wizard. "But how…?" she questioned, mentally skimming through each of her books regarding the ultimate time magic and the huge creation that had been reformed. Even if she had access to all those tomes it would have taken years to decipher the intricate spells that had gone into the huge gateways, and it had been nowhere near to the year which Gray had originally been assured.

"It is almost complete," Hisui informed them, her eyes pinned upon the unwelcome guests as they continued to struggle against the gravitational magic. "You will be doing the honours of powering the last of the gate, to pay for your betrayal."

"Betrayal?" Gray questioned, lifting his head up and trying to find the truth beneath the princess's eyes. He had been ready to play the traitor, ready to turn his back against the world and risk everything for his own, but those instincts had been slipping away for some time now and he was certain he had done nothing to deceive the princess. "What betrayal?"

"The world is in danger!" Lyon shouted out, teeth gritted hard against the pain of the gripping magic and the frustration that even if he could stand back on his feet, he could not attack the royal family's personal guards without invoking a war. "We need to use Eclipse to fix time otherwise we'll _all_ be destroyed!"

"Oh, I was told that is what you would want me to believe," Hisui said, glancing back to the new figure who stepped into the hall, the black cloak that hung from the slim frame sweeping across the floor. "I've already been warned of your true intentions, you cannot hide them from me any longer: You wish to modify the Eclipse, to create a new monarchy to reign in your world. You never truly intended to destroy Zeref, you only wanted to create a world which you could control," she said, her eyes glaring upon each one of the 'army' that lay beneath her feet and trying desperately to ignore the feeling that wished she was wrong. She didn't want to believe she could be betrayed, that the people who had encouraged her to create Eclipse again had meant the purest of intentions not only to her world but to her family.

"That's… that's just not true….!" Wendy gasped, trying desperately to worm her way out of invisible restraints.

Ultear's teeth gritted in frustration, knowing that while they struggled the Eclipse gate was close. She could feel her magic was returning with the proximity to the gate, sensing the ripples of time sweeping through the world. Even in its unpowered form the gate was connecting to each and every Eclipse through time and space, which equally filled her with hope and dread. "This is ridiculous," she hissed, pulling upon her powers and sending a quiver through the entire castle, watching as cracks spiralled above the huge stone ceilings.

The cloaked figure pulled closer to the princess, a thin smile barely visible through the shadows of his hood, but the briefest flickers of white and black could be seen. "We know what you've been planning," the princess continued, staring at her victims as the royal guards edged closer. "I've been well informed of your betrayal, from someone who has seen the future with their own eyes. Your plan will not succeed this time; we have made certain of that. Eclipse will be completed, Yukino has already sent for Lucy to bring the last of the Zodiac keys and this time we will not accept failure. There is no way to close this door once it opens. I will not let you destroy this country or this world," the proud princess proclaimed.

"Lucy…" Wendy gasped, looking up in disbelief, feeling her body shiver at the thought of her close friend walking straight into their trap. "She wouldn't…"

"She is already on her way," Yukino said, gritting her teeth and biting against the taste of ash. It truly sounded like she was hurting her friend and betraying her trust, but she believed her royal master and friend, and knew that in the end they would be thanking them for protecting their world.

Ultear gasped out, feeling the magic that had only just returned to her grasp ripping from her fingertips and draining her more than any force of gravity could. A hum filled the room as the Eclipse Gate hungrily drank her newly restored powers, her breathing rapidly drawing through her chest as eyes gazed upon the far corner of the room shrouded in heavy material. This was Eclipse; she could feel the sheer power and the dark energy swirling beneath the velvet sheets, see the invisible connections drifting through the air and knitting with every world and time from here to the abyss. Although she couldn't see the intricate details or the runes which covered the thick stone, she could feel the overpowering energy and knew that this gate could at least do what they had intended. It was connecting the worlds, it was dragging back the magical powers that had been shattered, and it was repairing the world of time and space. It was, however, connected to a completely different time. "The Gate… you still intend to go back… four hundred years ago…?" she realised with a heavy breath, realising how close they were to shattering the fragile balance that they were creating.

"Isn't that we all wanted?" Hisui asked, genuinely surprised that the dark-haired stranger would be so open in her intentions. "A few days ago, we captured one of your traitors, claiming that there was another true king of this world," the princess continued, trying to find her own conviction in her words. "I didn't know what to make of it until our friend appeared from the future. He told me of your plans to modify Eclipse, to destroy all our work and create a world in which you succeed and we do not. I was sceptical, of course, but he had seen impossible futures, he had seen the destruction of the Magical Council, he had seen the path to recreating Eclipse."

"That's impossible!" Ultear cried out, her eyes flashing wildly. "Every Eclipse Gate is connected to one another throughout time. If it was destroyed, there's no way someone could still be here after travelling from the future or past!" she exclaimed, finally gathering enough strength to pull herself back to her knees and look straight at the Stranger. "Whoever that is, he's lying to you, princess!"

A flicker of a familiar smile came from beneath the heavy hood of the cloaked man. He walked to the far side of the room, towards the hum of the giant gate and began to pull down the huge sheets which now did little to shield its presence.

Terrified by the Stranger's silence, Hisui took a step back, her shock choking her as she looked across the room. Despite all of his whispers and the evidence that she was being betrayed, she could not help but believe the Isvan criminal. "Is this true?" she asked, but she too received no reply from the cloaked man. "Reveal yourself, stranger, who are you if not from the future!?" she demanded.

"I am someone who has a particular interest in destroying Zeref... and destroying the world," he said gently. The cloak shifted from his shoulders, revealing the black and white clothing underneath and the lonely desperate eyes of the dark lord. He glanced back to them all, watching as they shuddered and fought against each other, despairing once more at how easily corruptible and broken the world was. "After all, _I am Zeref_ ," the man said, his voice laced with a haunting sadness that filled the room in terror.

Their eyes opened wider, their bodies frozen in fear. As the Eclipse Gate unfolded the perfection in the craftsmanship was unmistakable, the work of the original creator replicated in a way that only Zeref himself could achieve. It hummed and gaped hungrily, the magical energy twisting and turning through the air and desperately trying to quench any last drop of power from the wizards inside. Only the Zodiac could reign her magic in these walls freely, a part of the very Eclipse heart itself.

Hisui took a faltering step back, holding onto the banister of the balcony tightly. Before her was the very object of her fears, the monster from nightmares, the crushing force that had caused desolation upon her land. She had brought it into her home and dared to question the morals of her guests, she realised with a sickening feeling in her stomach, only now knowing just how manipulated she had become. "Zeref…" she gritted her teeth at the painful word, her mouth a thin line as she tried to remember her goal. Destroy Zeref. By any means necessary. "G-Guards! Arcadios! Yukino!" she called out.

"I would rather you didn't summon more lives to be ended," Zeref warned her, lifting his hands and twisting the into the shapes of his godly magic.

Arcadios's eyes grew wide in terror, seeing in a split moment the overwhelming charge of a dark blast coming from the immortal's fingertips. "Princess!" he called out quickly, diving towards her and throwing himself in front of her as the huge roar of deadly energy spiralled straight towards the balcony. In an instant, he wrapped his arms around her and threw his entire weight forward, hurtling both himself and the princess away from the blast.

"Princess!" Yukino called out in a gasp.

The princess screamed as they toppled over the edge of balcony straight towards the gardens far below.

* * *

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Natsu raged, pinned down both by a fully powered Patherlily and Gajeel as they sat on his back and tried to stop him from squirming and blasting flames to an unreachable target.

"Natsu, calm down!" Erza hissed loudly to the dragon slayer, aware that although they had moved deeper into the gardens and the situation had changed from Carla's information, there were still several guards lurking around and she was certain their invitation didn't extend to sulking around the shadows.

"I wonder which Gray he's wanting to kill…?" Happy asked innocently, though quickly shut his mouth when he could see Erza was not appreciating the encouragement.

"It's kind of sad…" Lucy whispered over Natsu's raving, ignoring the shaking white spirit that was tugging at her skirt and trying to show yet another of his awkward dances. "I can't believe that none of us knew… All this time, Gray was…"

Erza shook her head quickly, her eyes cold and calculating as she said with a hint of force in her voice "No, Lucy, you're wrong. We all knew. It just would have been impossible for us to guess the specifics."

Lucy looked up at Erza, realising that it was both what Erza truly believed and what she needed to believe. She thought back to every passing thought, every concern that had crossed her mind and the awkward looks that she had given her friends whenever Gray did anything uncharacteristic. She knew that she should have done more, that they all should have reached out more, but if Carla's information was true then it may not have made much difference anyway. "I suppose," Lucy agreed with a heavy sigh, going to reach out a hand to pet the spirit before realising that it had left her side. She blinked, certain he had desperately been trying to get her attention only seconds before, but when she looked back he was nowhere to be seen. "Plue?" she questioned.

"Pu-puuun…"

She followed the sound of his voice, eyes almost popping out of her head as she watched him pull back the giant doors of the royal palace, disappearing inside. "Plue!" she shrieked, quickly rushing up and running after the surprisingly agile spirit, the requip wizard following the weakened celestial wizard and spirit quickly.

Another scream met the celestial wizard's. They all looked up, the huge blast of darkness etching into the night sky and two figures falling straight towards them while the princess's screams echoing across the courtyard. "Happy!" Natsu called quickly, but the small cat was already poised and flying up as quickly as his gleaming white wings would take him, his two fellow exceeds by his side.

The screams stopped as the Royal safely fell into the blue cat's arms, the huge knight taking the full strength of both the white and black exceed's flying magic to slow their decent. Slowly, their feet were gently able to fall to the ground. Both members of the palace looked visibly shaken, but couldn't help but stare at their saviours in grateful confusion. "I… thank you…" Hisui whispered, her hands across her chest and looking as if she may burst into tears at any moment. Her eyes strayed upwards once more, towards the location of her dark curse and the man who had created it.

"What the hell was that?" Natsu asked, pushing Gajeel off him and brushing himself down to turn back to the damsel in distress.

Hisui shivered. "Zeref…" she murmured, not daring to look at any of their reactions to name. She had let darkness into the capital, into the heart of Fiore and had threatened the lives of guards, lords, ladies and the King himself, her very own father. She could feel her body tremble in desperation, unable to understand how wanting to create a world cured of his curse had brought him onto her very doorstep. "He's reclaiming Eclipse. We need to stop him," she said, a brave determination gleaming in her eyes.

"Zeref." Natsu's hands curled into tight balls, staring up at the balcony which the princess and knight had fallen from. There was his target. There were his answers. There was his brother.

"We need to protect the King at all costs," Arcadios reminded the princess swiftly.

Hisui nodded pointedly, looking back at the Fairy Tail members that remained. "We need to evacuate as many people from the palace as swiftly as possible. I…" she looked at Gajeel intently, blinking several times as the realisation began to sink in. "How were you able to escape?" she questioned him.

"Huh?" the dark-haired dragon slayer grunted.

Levy understood quicker, stepping closer with a sense of new urgency. "Princess, there's no time to explain! You need to show us where you think that you had Gajeel and we'll explain everything on the way!"

Hisui looked uncertainly between the Fairy Tail pair and back to her Knight, but Arcardios gave her a reassuring nod. "I will begin the preparations to evacuate the royal family and sound the alarms. Be safe, princess," he told her.

Natsu didn't stay long enough to watch Levy, Lily, Gajeel and Hisui disappear back into the palace to escape underground to whatever dungeon she had been keeping the Edolas citizen in. He ignored Arcadios's surprised cries as he flew up with Happy on his back. He hadn't even seen the celestial wizard and requip wizard rushing through the palace doors to chase after the careless celestial creature. He hurtled through the sky, hearing nothing but the wind, seeing nothing but the target in front of him, feeling nothing but the fire blazing around his fists as he barrelled through the air straight towards his Zeref Dragneel.

* * *

 **Sorry, these next two chapters... there's just... so much going on in them. Hopefully you'll be able to keep up with it all and let me know if you have any questions or anything :)**


	21. The Stranger

"Princess!" Yukino called out, her voice strangled in fear as Hisui tumbled from the balcony to the gardens below.

The smirk across Zeref's face was undeniable, though it was difficult to say exactly why it rested against his features. In part, it could be thought that he was happy that the royal lady and her bodyguard had fallen out of the way of his deadly curse, or perhaps there was a sickening pleasure from knowing that although they had avoided his Ankhesram, death had been inescapable as they had tumbled to the gardens below. In truth, he had gained quite a bit of his joy from the reassurance that his own powers were well within his grasp, even under the Eclipse gate. It meant that right now, as he had predicted, only two forms of magic could survive; Ankhesram and Celestial, the union which had created the divide in all parallel worlds and times.

His gaze fell back into the room, ignoring the celestial wizard's desperate curses as his attention turned to his new audience. In the immortal's long lifetime, it was rare for him to see so many familiar faces at once, but only one seemed to catch his attention. "I thought I had killed you already…" he breathed, staring at the impossible life before him.

Lyon's eyes were wide with terror, struggling to pick himself up from the ground even as the gravitational shift softened. He gritted his teeth. This time there would be no option to run, but he was determined that he would not die by these hands again. "Not well enough," he said defiantly, glancing back to the two sky sisters with yet more overflowing appreciation, no matter how close to their demise they may once again have been.

Zeref followed his gaze, seeing the two small girls pulling one another to their feet. He could feel the familiar energy, remembered the vague descriptions he had heard of their powers in his patient preparation for taking over the Eclipse once more. "I see," he nodded gently in understanding. He may have been impressed if he had not been convinced that they had saved Lyon's life due to a complete fluke. He assumed that they had no knowledge that his power came from the god of death, and that the amplification of a God Slayer's powers at the most opportune moment had been the only possible saviour that the immortal had seen through the last four hundred years. "Unfortunately, there is quite a difference between stopping a God and destroying one," his thoughts continued out loud, returning his gaze back to the gate.

"That's my job!" Natsu yelled as Happy flew him up over the banister, hurtling straight towards the dark lord with a powerful flaming fist.

At least, that was the attention.

Upon entering the vast hall, Happy's wings instantly disappeared from his back and were sucked straight into Eclipse. He panicked, gripping onto the dragon slayer tighter as the flames in Natsu's arms twisted away from his body and spiralled through the air straight towards the gate. The result was both the exceed and the dragon slayer tumbling and rolling straight towards the dark lord's feet.

"Natsu…" Wendy sighed in despair.

Zeref found himself smiling in the most genuine way as he leaned over his brother and the cat, resisting the urge to ask if they needed a hand. "The Eclipse Gate controls all magic except for my own and celestial. Did you not experience this last time…?" he asked.

Natsu jumped back to his feet, snarling as he knew that yes, this was exactly what had happened to him last time. Several times, in fact. The reminder did nothing to mend his wounded pride, as he defiantly pulled his fists in front of him. "I'll just have to kick your ass without magic then," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Interest sparkled in Zeref's eyes. Physical combat had not been his greatest ability, but the deadly god bestowed him with strength and speed while Natsu had no comforting flames to guide his blows. "I wonder. Are you finally ready to destroy me?" he asked, the slightest slither of hope lacing his voice.

"I promised you, didn't I?" Natsu said as he delivered his first punch, landing straight through the air and narrowly missing his deadly target. He didn't let his failure dissuade him, no matter how impressed he had been by the instincts and speed of the young looking man. "I told you I'm going to be your end. I'm not going to let you get away with this."

Zeref ducked from yet another blow, twisting his body through his own menacing shadows and slipping behind the pink-haired wizard, throwing his own fist straight into the back of Natsu's skull. "So, you finally remember, brother?" he asked curiously.

Natsu caught himself from falling forwards, twisting his body around and finally landing his fist attack in the form of a roundhouse kick sending the dark lord skidding backwards. "Yeah, I remember," he admitted, breathing heavily as he glared at Zeref. "I don't get it, but I remember that day now."

Zeref held his arms over his body protectively, giving Natsu a stern gaze. "Then you'll remember your failure," he said, seeing the look of surprise written across Natsu's face at the hissing tone. "Eclipse was designed for you to destroy me, and you failed that day four hundred years ago. Eclipse failed its sole purpose. I've given you a second chance now. The Eclipse Gate only needs to be awoken and you can do things right. It is the only way that you can destroy me."

"This is Arcadios," shouted a magically projected voice piercing through the sudden silence that had erupted between the fighting brothers, echoing through the entire palace grounds and unimaginably further through the capital city. "The castle is in danger. I repeat, everyone is in danger. Your responsibility now is to save the royal family and follow the evacuation process. This is not a drill. Evacuate as quickly as possible," the lacrima shivered with the words.

Completely ignoring the warning, Natsu's hands dropped, his defences lowered as he saw that Zeref was no longer attempting to place any attacks upon him. In fact, he was begging for the exact opposite. "You want me to destroy you?" he asked, unable to believe he had interpreted his riddles correctly.

Zeref looked almost disinterested, though this couldn't have been further from the truth. All he had been concerned about for the last several centuries had been his own demise, desperately searching for a way that he could disappear into the eternal slumber he had cast upon so many in his tortured life. "I have lived for too long. Either the world will be destroyed, or I will. Right now, I don't much care which happens first."

That only made Natsu angrier. There were two things that he simply couldn't stand in this world; threatening the people he loved, and giving up on yourself. Even if he had only just discovered that the man before him truly was his brother, a fact that still did not easily rest inside of him, he couldn't bring himself to feel any joy at his desperation to be destroyed. "I already told you," he hissed in anger, bringing his fists back up and gritting his teeth as he threw another new punch with a fiery determination pounding through his ears. "If I go through that thing, I lose this world. I'm not destroying you through Eclipse. This is my world. These are my friends. This is my Fairy Tail. I told you I'm going to end you one day and that day is today, Zeref. My way," he smirked as his fists flew through the air, pounding viciously straight towards the enemy of his past.

Ultear's eyes brushed over the console and the Eclipse, trying to pull back all her training and studies as she desperately ignored the chaos behind her. Yukino was giving fevered directions to Wendy and Lamia Scale as she explained what the evacuation process entailed and those that she believed to be in danger, giving the startled wizards a new sense of purpose as they disappeared through the maze of corridors to save the remaining royals and palace servants. It had been obvious that no one had could stand a chance between the dragon slayer and Zeref. Even though was not a flicker of magic in sight, the threat that Zeref could instantly explode into a familiar circle of death was enough to make them quickly realise spectating was not an option. Although she would not to evacuate, Ultear had no intention of spectating, desperately searching the Eclipse gate for some way of shutting down the dangerous magic before it had even begun. Confusion buried deeper the harder she looked, however, feeling the familiar time magic running through her fingers at the touch in the exact form that she would have attempted. "I don't understand…" she murmured. "Eclipse is… saving the world…?"

Zeref glanced back to her as he dodged out of the way of Natsu's attacks, only making his little brother even more annoyed at the ease with which he fought. "Eclipse is designed to restore the world to the way it is supposed to be. I have seen enough of this world to know that it will destroy itself."

"Oh yeah?" Gray asked, finally stepping forwards with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He had heard the arguments between the Dragneel brothers, the absent explanations of the lost chapter of Eclipse, and it had not taken long for the Maker mage to realise the secret choice Natsu had made the last time Eclipse was activated. His first instinct was anger, feeling betrayed that the dragon slayer had turned his back on the Eclipse world, the thousands of lives lost and their fragile yet brotherly trust. He had rose to his feet, ready to fight against his nakama, filled with anger at knowing that Natsu had chosen to protect Earthland above Eclipse, but before he could even raise his fists the anger shifted into the biting realisation that he hadn't been trusted. Stubbornly, he was filled with a new determination to prove Natsu wrong. Something in the promise of fight and hope gave strength to the cold in a way that only the fire dragon slayer could rekindle. "You should try putting a little more faith in this world," the Ice Maker challenged Zeref, jacket flying off his shoulders as he poised himself into the fighting position beside his nakama, ready to earn back his trust.

Though he had no explanation to Gray's sudden personality shift, Natsu's eyes gleamed in recognition, a bright grin crossing his face as he unmistakably saw his friend for the first time since Eclipse. "Took you long enough," he teased, unwilling to admit the happiness he felt from his presence but knowing that once they had finished fighting against Zeref then he would be sending a few of these punches straight towards the ice maker.

"Whatever, dragon breath," Gray smirked, knowing exactly what Natsu's insulting words truly meant and understanding that would be the closest to 'I missed you' he would ever receive. He didn't know how he had known, or how long he'd been aware that there had been a battle between fire and ice within him, but it filled Gray with joy and the slightest part of relief to know that Natsu had been able to see the shift as soon as the battle had been won. Ice had won. He had felt every one of Natsu's words running through his soul. This world, these friends, this Fairy Tail. The Fire Maker hadn't dared to put up a fight as the Ice Maker's passion rekindled at the dragon slayer's glittering hope, though he would never admit that the combination of stubbornness and his rival's strength had been two of the final pieces to convince him that this world was anything but empty. Now all they had to do was to protect it.

"Pu-puuun"

There were looks of in disbelief as the small white creature stumbled into the hall, completely oblivious to the chaos and darkness around. It shivered with every step, surprisingly fast as it bounded across the room and straight into Libra's arms. The Zodiac leaned down, her hands gently taking the shaking creature as sadness filled her eyes to see his suffering. She did not hesitate as she picked him up, turning back to Yukino and explaining "I need to take him home, master, I am sorry," before disappearing back into her own world.

"WAIT!" Yukino yelled out quickly, taking a halting step forwards and stumbling. She did not have the energy to resummons a zodiac sign. There was now no power that could stand the against the Eclipse's hungry drain except for the deadly god's.

A breath of pain that had been trapped inside of Lucy's lungs had finally been able to escape. The desperate celestial wizard fell to her knees at the door of the hallway, watching as her final spirit disappeared into the other world and she could feel only relief. The overwhelming sadness would come soon, she knew, but for now she could finally feel her magic was no longer ebbing away at her life force. She could not revel in this moment, however, as the three battling boys at the far end of the hallway each had their eyes pinned on her. "Huh?"

"Lucy, run!" Natsu cried out, diving towards Zeref and toppling him from his feet in a desperate attempt to stop him from doing the predictable. "He's after your Zodiac keys! He's trying to restart Eclipse!"

Lucy blinked, thoughts coming painfully slowly. The word 'keys' registered something quick and instinctual in her mind, however, as she reached down to her side to take the familiar brown pouch. She panicked, staring down and seeing that it had already been snatched away from her. "My keys!" she yelled out in disbelief, looking around for a possible thief.

The black imp grinned to himself as he scuttled like a black shadow across the floor. It made a sound almost like a chuckling as it gripped the side of the Eclipse gate, climbing the huge steps as the pouch of keys hung from his badly crafted cape. He only seemed to grin wider as Yukino also cried out theft, the gates of Pisces and Libra also tucked away carefully within Lucy's absent pouch the moment that Libra had disappeared to her own world. Once at the top, it looked down to the panicked fools below, proudly pulling on the first golden key.

"Someone stop it!" Gray cried out, instinctively calling upon his iced bow and arrow before remembering his mistake, falling to one knee as the magic was sucked from his hands and eagerly taken by Eclipse. "We can't let Eclipse start!"

"Do you not have faith in the world?" Zeref challenged, eyes gleaming as he stared at his creation.

Ultear took a staggered step backwards, seeing the true situation that they had been placed into. "If Eclipse isn't activated, the world's will collapse…" she translated, with every step feeling the cold fear trembling down her back. She could feel the energy from the giant gate, feel the pulsating power running through the world and knitting together every loose end through time and space. One by one the black creature was placing the keys into the corresponding keyholes, twisting every latch with a terrifying 'click'. The Eclipse Gate was perfect, however, and almost identical to the craft and modifications that she would have made to it herself, but what worried her was not knowing exactly why Zeref was so keen. "If Eclipse isn't activated the world's will stay separated. Spatial magic will cease forever. Time will split apart. We need… we need Eclipse… We need it to work…"

Agreeing with Zeref was too terrifying to even consider.

Another Zodiac key slipped into place.

* * *

The ripples of Eclipse were felt throughout the entire castle, even in the deepest of catacombs. Hisui's steps were as quick as she could manage and Levy's short legs couldn't achieve much better, but it was painfully obvious that the huge dark dragon slayer was becoming irritated by their slowness as the world above crawled closer into danger. Arcadios's warning could be heard clearly over the lacrima dotted all over the palace but Hisui continued deeper underground with determination and the deepest of guilts inside her chest.

"When he arrived at the palace, he was talking so vividly about a 'King Jellal'…" Hisui offered her own explanation, as if begging for some kind of pardon to her mistakes. "We couldn't have known that he was from another world, or this 'Edolas' that you have mentioned. At first we believed that he may have lost his mind, and I barely recognised him as yourself, Gajeel," she said, glancing back at the iron dragon slayer beside her and shuddering.

Gajeel gritted his teeth tighter, wishing that she could focus on speed instead of apologies. "We don't look that different," he rolled his eyes.

Hisui looked down, taking yet another winding corner and pulling her torch higher. "Then I fear that time may have changed a lot for 'Edo-Gajeel'," she said with all seriousness, tracing the walls with her fingers as they drew closer. "It was only when-when Zeref explained that they were planning on using Eclipse to create a world without our royal family that I thought he must have been a traitor. I can't believe how naïve I was, how blind…" she whispered to herself, stopping in her tracks and pulling the light upon the iron bars.

The Edolas reporter looked up towards the glimmering light, his dark eyes narrowing at the sudden contrast to the shadows around him. His hair was wilder than ever, even with his scattered curls it seemed to resemble this world's Gajeel's more than ever but it was clear what Hisui had meant when she said she had barely recognised him. He had none of the tell-tale piercings of the dragon slayer, but instead his face was scarred and pale. He did, however, give the familiar grin that made Levy inexplicably blush as he looked up at his counterpart. "It has been a long time, dragon slayer."

Gajeel frowned, knowing there was so much that he wanted to ask this Gajeel, about the scars and the life that he had lived without magic, but he had already grown irritated at the delay. "You been getting yourself into trouble again?" he said gruffly as he twisted his hands over the bars, yanking the iron back and picking off a piece for his own snack.

Edo-Gajeel nodded as he stepped closer into the light. "A necessary risk to get closer to the truth," he decided, looking back at the princess curiously.

"Geehee, I told you that you'd like him, didn't I Squirt?" Gajeel grinned pointing his thumb back at him.

Levy's blush deepened, thankful for the dim light. "Um, it's, uh, nice to meet you?" she said nervously, holding out her hand for him to shake. She wasn't certain that Gajeel would be the sort of man that most would offer a hand to, but Edo-Gajeel, even with his dishevelled appearance, seemed very different. Just as her fingers were about to touch his, however, she let out a sudden gasp. The light of the torch bounded straight through his hand, his suddenly semi-translucent image fading before her very eyes.

Even he seemed to look at his own fingers with confusion. "What… What's happening…?" he questioned.

The palace trembled, the rippling energy of darkness and light twisting through the wizards. "Wh-what is that?" Levy asked, eyes wide as she stared at the ceiling warily, wondering how strong the thick stone walls around them could be.

Hisui looked up, recognising the familiar power as it coursed through her own body. "Eclipse is starting," she said, her mouth a thin straight line.

Levy let out an unintentional squeal, covering her mouth with her hand as she looked back at the Edolas reporter. He was fading quicker, and she was left desperately trying to remember each of her books and studies she had spent the last few weeks tirelessly exploring. "The disruptions in time and space must be correcting themselves. Edolas citizens are going back home," she realised, knowing that they had come so far from safety only to reveal that the captive was disappearing from the world. "We're running out of time then. We have to stop it!" she exclaimed desperately, staring back at Hisui and looking for the answers.

Hisui's heart raced in her chest, eyes brimming with guilty tears as she explained "After what happened last time, we couldn't risk… someone shutting Eclipse down. There is no way to stop Eclipse once it has been activated…"

"Levy, Gajeel…" Lily's voice spoke gruffly, his tone serious but troubled as he stared down at his own fading hand.

* * *

"Natsu…" Happy called out, shaking as he tried to pick himself up from the ground but finding himself suddenly weakened. The tiny ball of blue fur was flickering in time with the Eclipse gate, appearing and disappearing within the world and no one was more terrified than the cat's closest friend.

"Happy!" Natsu screamed as he realised, instantly blaming himself for not going back to the exceed's side sooner as he abandoned all conflicts with Zeref to kneel in front of his best friend. "Happy, what's wrong? What's happening to you?!" he demanded.

"I don't know! What's happening to me!?" he called out, eyes wide and filled with terrified tears as he looked up at Natsu in desperation.

Ultear, Gray, Lucy and Erza could only look on in concerned confusion, but Zeref was the only one with an explanation. "The Eclipse Gate is mending the world from all fractures and breakages. Everyone from another world is returning. Your friend is not from this world," he advised, his voice bordering on sympathy as he looked back at Natsu's panicked gaze.

Natsu shook his head, anger flaring inside of him. "Happy is from this world! I hatched him, I took care of him, he's as much a part of this world as anyone! You can't take him away! He's not going back there!" he yelled at the top of his voice, feeling the soft blue fur rubbing against his leg as Happy pulled himself closer, the sensation flickering in and out of existence as the gate hummed.

Zeref could only shake his head, genuinely powerless. "I haven't done anything. Eclipse decides who is from which world," he said, for a brief moment wishing that there was something that he could do to offer his brother one last moment of happiness before the world stole his goodness, as it stole all goodness.

"Then we have to stop it. Stop Eclipse! Stop it now!" Natsu yelled up at the tiny imp, pulling himself back onto his feet and glaring up at the haunting black eyes.

With a defiant grin, the creature turned the final key.

"Nats-" Happy began, his words carried away with him as he blinked out of Earthland.

"HAPPY!" Natsu screamed, his eyes wide and suddenly filled with tears as he took a staggered step back. His friend was out there, alone in a desperate world, the twisting and glowing light from the opening gate completely ignored in his desperation. There was nothing he could do to follow him, no one that he could beat sense into, nothing he could do to reclaim his very closest companion, and his body erupted into raging flames. It seemed that nothing could break him out of his fury. But even in his emotion fuelled chaos, even Natsu could not ignore the terrifying moment that the Eclipse opened.

And the first dragon stepped into the world.

* * *

 **So much is happening in these chapters it's unreal. I hope it makes sense and nothing really gets lost.**

 **Apologies in advance for this and any chapters posted this week (which should be all of the remaining ones hopefully!). I'm away from home and writing on my iPad and it isn't the most reliable, not to mention it keeps flipping between English US and English UK - which probably bugs me way more than you!**

 **Oh and a quick note to juststrolling23 and your Zeref obsession lol Zeref was actually quite a last minute addition to these chapters but he seemed to fit in so well I couldn't refuse, so thanks for the inspiration to add more Zeref!**

 **And thank you always for everyone's reviews :D**


	22. Future 1

The desolation that reigned as far as the eye could see made Deliora look like child's play. It made the damage of four hundred years of Zeref's darkness seem like a blessing. It left no one to mourn for their broken lives. It was the end of the world. Dragons had burned and slaughtered and devastated the world as far as the eye could see, no doubt already having taken over more than half of Fiore in their terrifying supremacy, and humankind had not taken down a single beast yet.

The fact that one of Earthland's few dragon slayers was yelling about the disappearance of his cat did not fill them with the greatest of confidence.

Erza, Gray and Lucy exchanged glances as they rested, concerned that the dragon slayer was burning his depleting energy on his ranting and angry stalking. They were exhausted, drained and sweating. The world was a chasm of fire and debris, and hiding places were few and far between, their only suitable option up to this point had been to run for hours on end. No one knew when they would next have a chance to catch their breath, or even if they would have a chance to defend themselves against the terrifying beasts, but their feet would simply not let them take another step forwards unless there were giant jaws once again ready to snatch them away.

"It's probably best he isn't here, Natsu…" Lucy said when she finally caught enough breath to speak, glancing back at him and hoping that he would just sit for a moment. There was a terror that his yelling and pacing would draw unwanted attention, but she knew already the dragons shared the heightened senses of the slayers and if there were any nearby they were either being ignored or toyed with. She wasn't certain which terrified her more.

Erza nodded seriously in agreement. Although she had more strength and resilience than the celestial wizard, it was clear to see even she was shaken by the weight of the giant mythical beasts. "Lucy is right. Wherever he is, I can almost guarantee that he's safer than we are right now."

"There must be something we can do…" Lucy whimpered, her eyes sparkling with tears.

The silence was overpowering. Natsu turned away, continuing to pace and demand that they return Happy back to his side. Gray hung his head, darkness clouding his vision. Erza gritted her teeth, holding her arms tightly across her chest. Lucy could only concentrate on pushing back the hot tears. Soon they would need to run again, soon another dragon would rear their head and their world would disappear into smoke and ash. There was no direction to run, no hope of survival and no reason left to fight for it.

Lucy felt his presence before she could see him. Her heart beat faster in her chest, lifting with an unexpected moment of joy through the chaos as she dared to smile. She stood suddenly, new strength returning to her legs as she rushed forwards and cried out "Loke!" Tears followed her, suddenly filled with a bitter happiness as she threw herself to her celestial friend.

Loke smiled, looking torn and exhausted but defiantly standing tall within the flaming wreckage around the, gladly pulling Lucy as close as he could. He soaked in her warmth, her vibrance, her smell, every part about the blond celestial wizard and squeezed her tight. "I'm so glad you're safe…" he breathed gently into her hair, knowing that he would have felt any injury to his master like a knife through his own heart.

"I promised you that I would be," she said, burying closer and unwilling to let herself take a step back and look into his eyes. She could hear his voice shaking and feel the trembling under his warm embrace, knowing that the distance had been as much torture for him as it was for her. She frowned. "I-I'm not strong enough to summon you, though… And your key…" she whispered, trying to piece together the last remaining pieces.

"I'm using my own magic to be here," he told her, loosening his grip and placing his hands instead in front of her, revealing the brown leather pouch within them. "I'm sorry it took me so long. I had to retrieve these."

"My keys!" she gasped, her heart once again filling with hope as she clutched onto them quickly, feeling the energy of each of her friends beneath her fingertips. She quickly folded back the lip, running her fingers of each metal key in turn and blushing. "Thank you so so much, Loke."

"If you took back the zodiac, does that mean that the Eclipse has stopped?" Gray asked hesitantly.

Loke looked up, his attention finally turning back to the small audience witnessing his reunion. His face turned stiff, a serious glance in his eyes reflecting back to the ice maker. "The gate has run out of energy and closed for now, but there are ten thousand dragons that have already passed through onto this world."

"Ten thousand…" Erza's voice filled with strain, the deepest of frowns written across her face as she thought of Acnologia, a sole dragon that they had been powerless against. Already they had seen the devastation and might of the dragons but she could have never imagined such a terrifying quantity had been released. "How do we defeat ten thousand dragons..?"

Lucy had her own frown upon her face, fingers halting towards two brightly gleaming keys that felt unfamiliar to her touch. "Loke, Libra and Pisces… These are Yukino's keys," she reminded him.

He nodded, fully aware of the contracts of his celestial nakama and the laws that controlled their passages in the world. "I know," he told her. "Unfortunately, we need them if we are going to restart Eclipse."

The four companions stared at Loke as if he had suddenly sprouted several heads. Lucy paled even further, slipping back onto the nearest boulder as her legs finally gave way to her exhaustion. Loke held her as she sat back down, but she barely seemed to notice his presence as she submerged into her own thoughts. "You want us to… restart Eclipse?" she questioned, wondering how many more times they would need to call upon the dark magic.

"If we go back into Eclipse again then we'll just be creating Edolas or that other freaky world again, right?" Natsu questioned, still determined that he wasn't going to trade this world for any other as he gripped his fists tightly.

"Even if you wanted to, we couldn't conjure enough energy to take the gate that far back," Loke explained, trying to remember every direction that Crux had given him before he had passed back into this world, though he struggled to comprehend the twists and turns of time travel. The Eclipse was connected to him in a way that he simply couldn't deny, the answers laid out for his soul to understand, but putting his instincts into words was more difficult to comprehend. "All of the Eclipse gates are connected to one another. If we can stop Eclipse in one timeline we can stop it in all futures."

Lucy hesitated but nodded slowly, beginning to understand. "We need to stop Eclipse from opening in the first place…" she whispered gently.

"And we've just spent the last few hours running as far from Eclipse as possible," GrayTrust grunted, pulling himself back to his feet reluctantly.

With a new sense of purpose, Loke's explanations were quick and controlled. "I can activate every Zodiac key but my own. I can teleport to the gate now and put everything into place. All that will be needed is someone – any one of you – to activate my key and go back and undo Eclipse."

"So what are we waiting for?" Natsu grinned, his fists pumping together as he could finally see the goal that he desperately lurched for. Even in the carnage and flames and surrounded by vicious dragons, there was one sparkle of hope. "We've got nothing to lose, right?"

"That's not true," Gray reminded him swiftly, something in his eyes suddenly resembling the gleam of the defeated Fire Maker in a dangerous flicker. "Is it, Loke?"

Loke hesitated, a cold calculated tone as he admitted "If something goes wrong, then not only our world will be affected. If we fail we could endanger all worlds, including the celestial realm."

"Including the world without Zeref," Gray reminded them sharply, though he suspected that there would be little sympathy for the world that everyone had abandoned so carelessly. Even though the Ice inside him had won, the Fire defeated both by Natsu's strength, Wendy's kindness and finally by the Eclipse shift in parallel worlds, he couldn't help but care for the world that he had desperately wanted to be a part of. He was now determined to save his own world over his alter-ego's, but he hoped that his flaming counterpart was safely returned and had his reservations about endangering him and his world yet again. "If what Zeref said is true, then the Fire Maker that was controlling me has returned to his world and Happy and the rest of Edolas have returned to theirs. Zeref and Ultear both said that this Eclipse was supposed to return the universe to the way that it was supposed to be. If we use Eclipse again we could break the worlds again. We could destroy the entire universe."

His words hung on the air uneasily, and each one of the Fairy Tail wizard knew that the risks before them were unimaginably painful. Their world had clearly been shattered, Loke was handing them the only remaining chance to redeem their lives and the millions who would suffer, but the lives and happiness of other parallel universes could be instantly snuffed away by one careless move. The celestial creations that Lucy had grown to love, the Edo-world that had overcome all odds, and the impossible world of Fairy Tail and Pixie Wing, were all on the brink of destruction.

"That depends," Loke asked, pushing his gleaming glasses back as he glanced between each of Fairy Tail's Strongest Team. "How much faith do you have in this world? Do you think that this is the way your world is supposed to be, or do you think that we can do better?"

Lucy looked up with wide eyes, glancing at the friends that she had made. She was exhausted, she was broken, she had felt every drop of magical energy drain from her body over the last few days, but she had stayed strong in the loving arms of her guild. She watched Loke, impressed that he too was willing to risk both of his own world just to save one, and the powerful hope gave her strength to nod.

Erza's face softened into a smile. She had seen herself in all forms across the different worlds, in strength and weakness, in determination and happiness. She had felt every powerful and soul-crushing emotion that this world had given her but she when Zeref had claimed that this world would destroy itself she had not believed it for a second. She nodded, determined.

Gray could feel the comforting ice finally inside of him, uninhibited by the Fire Maker that had been controlling his hopes and desires for so long. He had forgotten what was important, he had forgotten his guild and his nakama in the hopes of protecting an impossible world. But at Eclipse, he had seen the determination in Natsu's eyes, he had felt his burning desire to save the world that he cared for and knew without a shadow of a doubt that every single Gray in every single world could understand that drive. He smirked. The Fire Maker had risked this world for his own, and it was about time for the Ice Maker to make the same exchange. "Either way, it's worth fighting for," he said, resolve blazing in his eyes.

A grin spread across Natsu's lips seeing the looks of determination across his nakama's faces, his flaming fist punching against his hand as he was once again filled with a sense of purpose. "I'm all fired up."

* * *

 **Ha hai guys!**

 **I can't believe I still haven't finished this thing. It turns out that the world is taking longer to destroy than I had first thought XD**

 **In case you can't tell, this is now canon ;) Hense the name 'Future 1', a reference to diagram from the manga of the Eclipse Gate's futures!**

 **As if that needed to get MORE complicated XD**


	23. Requip

Natsu rolled his eyes, once again turning away from the Ice Maker to throw another of his flaming fists towards the nearest beast. It flinched at his touch easily and he couldn't deny he was reveling the impact his magic was making against these creatures. Though the companions were still doing everything in their power to avoid the actual dragons, he was determined that he would make his dragon slayer title official tonight. This was a difficult task already, but even he couldn't deny half of his punches had been thrown to the Ice Maker instead of the enemies. "All I'm saying is that maybe we shouldn't let Ice Princess loose with Eclipse in case he goes all pyromaniac again."

"You're one to talk!" Gray defended himself angrily. Although he wasn't having the same advantages against the Draglings as his rival, he was determined that he wouldn't let Natsu strike down one enemy more than his own count. "How many months would it be before we worked out how you've fucked up if we let you loose with Eclipse this time?" he asked, slamming a blade of ice through the head of the nearest dragling.

"I didn't fuck up!" Natsu yelled back, directing his next dragon roar to the monster standing right beside Gray.

Gray jumped back, the flames painfully licking against his bare skin as he barely dodged out of the way. Though he didn't show it, it actually felt comforting to know that fire now once again had a unpleasant reaction to his body, though it did help fuel his hatred towards the dragon slayer. "Watch what you're doing, flame brain!" he yelled back angrily.

"I'll just not save your ass then, ice block!" Natsu shouted, a hint of laughter on his words.

"I don't need saving, asshole!" Gray hissed, his hands twisting into the familiar Ice Maker shapes as he lunged his ice lances straight to the monster closest to Natsu, effectively stealing his next defeat.

The strain was etched on the requip wizard's face, the sweat running down her forehead and the heavy breath on her lips calculated and drawn. "It is quite possibly the end of the world…" She gritted her teeth, lifting up her sword and slicing downwards as heavily as she could, the weak metal vibrating in her hands. "We are standing in a wasteland…" The Dragling cried out, falling backwards under the weight of her wrath. "We are surrounded by ten thousand dragons…" She tugged on the sword angrily as it dislodged from the beast's chest, swinging it around and pointing it towards her nakama. "Can't you two fight literally anything but each other?!"

Both Gray and Natsu went to protest, after all they had been arguing over fighting the wrong enemies, but their words were stolen by something infinitely more terrifying than Erza. The gigantic mystical creature roared loudly, huge red wings billowing as it swept the land in flaming hurricanes. The four stumbled back despite their best efforts to secure their footing, blinking through the sudden storm that had been created as the creature dropped to the ground with a thud. It had its attention on them now, onyx eyes gleaming and choosing his favourite meal.

Natsu's eyes grew wider, feeling the overpowering aura and flames from the dragon before him. While he was clearly some kind of fire dragon, a particularly strong one at that, he could not have seemed more different to his father. This dragon stared at them only as livestock, not even giving them the satisfaction of a conversation before it reared back its head and showed them the might of a true dragon's roar.

They jumped back quickly, escaping the worst of the wrath but instantly covered in painful burns. Gray had done all he could to create a cold shield, but it had instantly not only melted but evaporated at the might of the flames. It had protected them from becoming an instant pile of ash, but the wounds had been undeniable. "Run!" he called out quickly, knowing that he wouldn't be able to protect them from a more accurate attack.

The Fairy Tail mages needed no more encouragement, instantly falling back and scattering in all directions to find cover. Even Natsu could tell that, despite all of his eagerness to slay one of the dragons that had invaded his home, they were hopelessly unprepared to tackle such a mighty beast. In his desperation he ran to Lucy's side, seeing her steps falter and barreling into her, knocking them both skidding into the earth and towards the chasms in the ground.

Lucy hung onto Natsu closely as they fell through the giant crack, not certain if she was more terrified of the sudden free fall or the second roar that was crackling flames above them. She felt Natsu's warmth, the overwhelming sense of comfort from his arms even in peril, and suddenly jerking to a stop. She glanced up, feeling his arm around him and seeing him grasp onto the side of the chasm. Below them were miles of darkness and a pit of bubbling lava. She grasped tighter.

"Lucy! Natsu!" Erza's voice echoed above the void from above, her voice laced with fear.

"We-We're OK!" Lucy called out, trying to find her whip by her side to pull them to a more secure place, though the surface seemed less than safe even in comparison.

"Just keep going!" Natsu called out, grunting as he pulled Lucy tighter and strengthened his grip on the side, trying his hardest not to focus on how much he missed his flying companion right now. "We'll meet you at Eclipse!"

Above, Gray narrowly dodged out of the way of a swiping talon, fully aware that the huge beast was toying with them now. "Yeah, that's easier said than done…" he murmured under his breath.

Erza gave Gray a knowing look, and his mouth tightened from any more complaints. She knew she could never bring herself to ask Gray their desperate request, but she also knew that he would never be able to refuse. With the exchange between the two calculating members of Fairy Tail, they decided silently on their path. They would draw away the dragon from their struggling companions, they would be the bait so that Natsu and Lucy could pull themselves out of the broken canyon, but it was a mission that neither of them believed that they could survive.

"Take the West side, we'll clear the way," Erza instructed them both as she began to take the route herself. There were still many Draglings that would block Lucy and Natsu's way, and even if she had to abandon the path once it became hopeless they would at least clear as much of the route as possible for them.

Gray took the smallest of glances back to the cracked ground before running after Erza, knowing silence was their most appropriate last words.

* * *

Erza gasped as she fell into the abandoned home, falling to her knees and panting heavily. The giant beast had been chasing them for what felt like hours, constantly moving their direction away from the trail of Eclipse and toying with his fiery breath. He could have burnt them to a crisp at a moments notice, she knew in panic, and time was running short to clear this route for the other two. In truth, however, the entire western path had been nearly obliterated in the dragon's twisted games, and she was certain they wouldn't even dare to follow their terrified steps. It was everyone for themselves now.

Gray fell beside her, caring little for the consistent danger as he crawled forwards and lay on his back, staring at the broken roof above them and the faint glimmer of dragons in the distant horizon. The heat had been unbearable, tearing at his skin and soul and he was certain that the flaming dragon had known the Ice Maker's weakness to his extreme temperature. There had been a crisp intelligence in his onyx eyes, even if he refused to speak to his pray, and he had been making their last moments torture.

It was all that the Ice Maker felt he deserved. He could feel desperate tears against his ash streaked cheeks, the red hue in the air only making his fevered mind wonder if he had already been sent straight to hell. "This is all my fault…" he murmured, seeing the devastation that had spread over his own petty actions. "This is all because I wanted Eclipse… I just wanted that world, I wanted everyone to be alive… I never thought…"

Erza shook her head but fell heavily onto her side, her strength ebbing away at the reminder. "Gray… I-I understand…" she hesitated. She knew he wasn't looking at her, lost in his own guilt and oblivion, but she too couldn't see him through the tears brimming in her eyes. "Eclipse held so much promise for the both of us. And there was some goodness there, some things that the others just can't understand…" She tried to smile at him, tried to offer him hope in the impossible but she knew she simply did not have Natsu's motivational abilities. "Gray, I remember who you were in Eclipse world. I still have some memories of him, of that world."

Gray's interest was enough to pull himself gently from the ground. "You do…?" he asked, wondering why she was telling him this, now of all times.

The redhead nodded, her vision still blurred. "I didn't want to talk about that world because I didn't want to believe it could exist. It terrified me to be so worthless, to be so weak, and to be so… happy," she said with a shudder, knowing that Gray would understand her words more than anyone. She would have never dared say this to another soul, worried that they would think that Fairy Tail didn't fill her with the joy that warmed her entire life. She had happiness in her world, but the happiness from Eclipse had been so overpowering it had filled the tortured teenager with inexplicable terror. "My point is that I've seen both sides of you, Gray. I know that you're a good person throughout. The mistakes we made don't matter, what matters now is how we fix them."

Gray knew better. He knew that mistakes did matter. He knew that they stayed in your heart and they tainted the world around you for a lifetime. They stole lives, they destroyed the things you loved, the people you cared for, no matter how good the intentions were. He and the Fire Maker had been aligned, their intentions pure even if they were willing to delve into darkness to make them a reality, but at the end they had both chosen the wrong path, and no amount of darkness or light could save them from the wrath of ten thousand dragons. Just at the moment the Ice Maker had been convinced that this world was worth fighting for, that it was worth living for, he found himself on the edge of destruction and death with the familiar guilt clawing his soul with a vengeance.

But he also had learned that Erza was at least right about one thing; they needed to focus on fixing those mistakes. He just felt so exhausted he wasn't sure how much fixing he was capable of. He could only hope Natsu and Lucy were alright, but he knew that there was little more he could achieve for them right now. Instead he had only Erza, who was just as desperate to save him as he was to save her.

A distant roar could be heard. It was anyone's guess whether it was their dragon, finally ready to place his kill, or if another had decided to take over the eternal chase. There were ten thousand enemies above them, thousands more Draglings on the ground and they knew that rest was an impossible request. Erza swallowed hard. "I had hoped for more time to organize my requips…."

Gray looked at her in confusion. They had been fighting together for many years and he'd never heard her mention organizing her requips, especially not in the middle of a battle.

She sighed, reluctantly explaining, "I haven't been able to use my requip magic for some time now. I suppose this was due to your… influence on parallel worlds," she said, ignoring the guilty look he had across his face. "When Eclipse mended the world's together I was finally able to use it again, but the shift in the worlds has created some significant issues. I have no idea what weapon I'm calling when, and I don't dare change my armour," she explained awkwardly.

Gray's eyes grew wider, surprised and horrified at the difficulties that Erza had been having. He hadn't noticed that she had kept her requipping to a minimum and still wore her mended Hart Kruez armour despite the multiple wounds and missing parts. What amazed him the most was that despite all of this, Erza actually looked more impressive than ever. A smile crossed his face. "So, you need a weapon against a fire dragon then?" he asked gently.

Erza looked down at the blade that was currently in her hand. It was stronger than most of her swords but had no significant advantages or the sharpness that she needed to slice through the thick armour of a dragon's scales. They had yet to inflict a single wound on the beast but she wasn't even certain that any blade would work. "I do, yes, I-" her words fell. She looked back at Gray, now standing before her with his iced crystal growing brilliantly in his hand, twisting and forming. She had always found his magic beautiful, but never more so than when it was twisting into the shape of a giant cold blade.

"It might not be as good as one of your own," he admitted with a shrug, pressing the hilt into her hand. "But I can create ice to be whatever you need."

She blushed, lifting herself to her feet and feeling the weight of the ice in her hands. It was heavier than she had expected, crafted from layers of thick frost and she could feel her magical energy harmonising with the weapon, making it stronger and faster and more deadly than any regular knight could wield. "Thank you," she told him, once more ready to face on the world.

The roar called again, beaconing them back to the battlefield, the grim determination set on both of their faces as they exchanged one final glance. They had barely rested, their hearts beat quickly in their chests, but the cold pressed against Erza's hand was a welcome relief and the strength by Gray's side gave him courage. They were as ready as they would ever be. With a battle cry they once again dived into the world, slicing Draglings and piercing through the broken wasteland. Eclipse was surprisingly close, they both realised with an cautious hope, and there would be a chance that they could overcome the world that Zeref had created for them.

"Gray, I need a lance!" Erza called, slicing through the nearest beast as her sword became stuck in the Dragling's abdomen.

"I'm on it," he said, jumping backwards from the nearest swipe and twisting together a lance. He had every one of her weapons memorised, not only from practice after years of training by her side but from the very practical implications it had. He specialized in static ice magic, often using weapons crafted from ice, and Erza had a keen eye for choosing the very best weaponry. It only made sense for him to replicate many of her choices, and in the Grand Magical Games it had helped his quick-thinking victory over Rufus.

Erza snatched the lance as he threw it towards her, spinning it around in her hand and felling several foes in the process. A grin crossed her face, amazed at the feel of the weaponry as he was equally impressed by her skills in weilding it. Her eyes darted upwards, a beast jumping from the broken houses in an attempt to pin down her nakama. She narrowed her eyes, throwing the lance as far as she could as it punctured the beast's heart. "Gray, Katana!"

Gray hesitated, his own battle raging before him. "I'm a little busy!" he exclaimed.

She frowned, calling on her own magic and taking a leap of faith as she pulled on the nearest weapon. Her hand grasped the mace, hissing in frustration as she knew it would be too slow to gain her advantage against such swift enemies. She dived forwards, however, jumping to Gray's nearest assailant and punching her metal through his chest. "Gray, I need a katana!" she said, a little more forcefully this time.

"Can you please just pick one?!" He asked, regretting instantly offering his assistance to the requip wizard. She had been far too used to swapping through all of her weaponry and adapting to the changing situations to best her foes. It was undeniable her skills were incredible, but the Ice Maker knew without doubt he just could not keep up while maintaining his own fight.

"Fine," she huffed, the mace knocked out of her hand and instead kicking the nearest beast down onto the ground, sending her heel through his skull. "Give me your very best, then."

Gray grinned, eager for the new challenge. "My very best?" he questioned, allowing the requip wizard to protect him as he summoned his favourite weapon. The cold magic twisted around him, quickly forming with the ease of practice. This was not one of Erza's blades, almost appearing too crude to be something that she would be holding, but it was crafted from his own imagination which only made the Maker magic stronger than any other blade he had wielded. He held out the hilt for her, gladly allowing her to take the deadly sword.

"Cold Excalibur," she recognized, nodding. "This will do."

"It'll do?" he questioned, glaring at her as she stepped further back, giving herself the space to swing the giant sword with ease.

The magic pulsed through her fingers, the harmony between requip and ice filling her with power as the blue blade swirled with a golden edge. She marvelled at it's power, the combination of energy beneath her fingertips resembling that of a physical Unison Raid. "Yes, it'll do," she grinned, beginning to twist around the magical blade expertly and making short work of the creatures that dared to stand before her.

It was clear that the Draglings were falling back, even with the impossible odds of the broken world they feared for their own lives, cackling and glancing at one another before piling on their attacks. No matter what advantage Erza had, she simply couldn't move forwards. The Eclipse Gate was painstakingly close, she was more powerful than ever, but the monsters were unrelenting. And there were ten thousand of them. Even she could see that the Draglings were thinning before her, however, more were scattering than charging towards her, and the smallest slither of hope presented itself.

The Cold Excalibur shattered in her hands.

She gasped, quickly drawing on a weaker blade in her haste to protect herself. It had not been the first time she had seen one of Gray's iced creations shatter, but she hadn't even felt it weaken in her hands. "Gray, I need another one!" she called, dreading his response as she knew that he had already scolded her requests. "Gr-!"

She stopped. For a moment, the world seemed to stop. She had turned back to her companion, only now feeling the huge blasting air from two large wings, the hot breath through the beasts nostrils as it looked at his pray in hungry anticipation. Beneath a huge claw, one of the gleaming black talons piercing bare flesh. The Ice Maker lay motionless.

Erza words were stolen from her, her heart pounding in her chest so loudly that she couldn't hear the Draglings crawling up beside her, cackling now in laughter. She took a step forwards, her weak blade shaking in her hands, feeling true fear running through her bloodstream. And anger. The dragon before her, in all of its careless might, was grinning down at his helpless victim, baring every one of his shining white teeth and ignoring the heartbroken redhead. She needed a sword now, any sword, all swords. She raised her hand to the air, pulling her first blade from the ether. And another, and another, and another. She didn't care which blade she was pulling out, fully aware that some of the abilities would be useless in this kind of attack and others would counteract each other completely. But she continued to draw blade after blade, hovering in the air above her. It had been a long time since she had taken out the Thunder Legion's painful lacrima with this same technique, and it was clear that she was far stronger than she had been then. Before her, over two hundred blades poised straight to the dragon. Only then did he raise his eyes to the Knight.

With one fell sweep, every blade sliced through the air and straight to their target.

The beast reared its head up, flicking his humongous tail around and scattering debris and ash through the air. He roared loudly, painfully, the shudder sending every one of the Draglings back covering their faces as the world was engulfed in clouds of smoke and dust. Erza did not let herself be moved by the weight, did not let herself show any ounce of weakness as the dragon fell into the fog, gritting her teeth and running forwards as soon as she saw the claw raised from her friend's body.

She skidded to her knees before him, pulling him up and trying to assess the damage. His eyes were closed lightly, face pale and drawn and his body riddled with blood and burns. "Come on, Gray, wake up," she begged him, quickly shaking him. Danger was still close, even if the giant beast had fallen, and even a moment's rest was impossible in the desolate world. He didn't move at her command and she didn't dare look to anywhere but his face, the gaping wounds across his chest making her eyes blur in tears that she couldn't afford to shed. "Come on, we're almost there, wake up Gray!" she yelled desperately.

The roar bounded through the wasteland, what Erza had thought would be a cry of pain suddenly seemed to change. She gripped onto her friend harder, the booming voice shifting into laughter. Hesitantly, her tear streaked eyes glanced upward as the fog began to part, revealing the giant red dragon standing as tall and mighty as every. Her heart stopped, searching across his scaled skin and realising that not a single one of her blades had bit into his flesh. He was laughing at her, mocking her. A horrific grin across the dragon's face as he glanced down at the redhead and the still ice maker, and a sense of hopelessness washed over Erza. There was 9,999 more of these beasts in the sky.

"Natsu, Lucy… You're our only hope…"

* * *

 **OK...**

 **So credit where credit is due. I came up with the idea of Gray creating requip a because of Kyogre's story Knight and Crafter, an AU story where Gray makes weapons for Erza. It's a good story!**

 **And some very observant readers may have realised that Erza attacked the Draglings the same way that the draglins attacked Gray in canon and 'the minute'.**

 **Thanks for all your continued support guys :3**


	24. Our World

**Hey Fairy Tail Fans! This is the second last chapter so don't forget to check regularly/bookmark/follow if you want to be sure not to miss the ending!**

* * *

Natsu pulled himself up from the chasm, dragging the celestial wizard with him. He wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from the heat and terror of the world above and looking at the desolation in front of them. He searched for the pair, hoping that they had not ventured too far and the team could once again be at their strongest sooner rather than later, but there was nothing but silence and the distant sounds of battles, roaring dragons and crackling flames. "Let's go," he told Lucy, refusing to wait even for a moment to chase and protect the rest of his friends.

Lucy nodded, but glanced up at the broken pathway to the heart of Crocus. "Do we.. Need to take the West side…?" she questioned.

Tracing the path with his eyes, he could understand Lucy's reluctance. The path was decimated, huge cracks splitting apart the earth and the ground hissed in the heat. There would be parts of the journey that would undeniably be impossible to pass, and the East side was as close to safe as possible in the broken world. Natsu was torn, knowing that on the West side he would join back to his friends as quick as possible, but unfortunately reaching the Eclipse Gate was more important. "East," he said with difficulty, hoping that there would be a way of looping both paths into one.

Lucy nodded, her arm around Natsu in sympathy as they helped each other forwards. Her magical energy was at zero, her heart so heavy her feet dragge and she felt the same reluctance that her friend did. "We did say we'd meet them at Eclipse…" she reminded him softly, beginning to walk forwards.

He nodded, his own heart lightening slightly. He had to save the world and had to save his friends. "Right. They got a head start. No way am I letting that ice bastard beat us there," he said, finally letting a grin fall back on his face.

Lucy smiled in understanding, nodding again gently. While Erza had lost her patience at the pair's arguments, it had almost felt comforting to the celestial wizard. The more they fought the more that she realised they cared, making up for the lost time since Eclipse as Natsu had his own special way of showing that he was worried about the 'ice bastard'. It wasn't hard to see why, surrounded by piles of ash and broken debris that had once been innocent lives, not even a physical bodies left behind. They could only look forwards, only look towards the Eclipse Gate and the promise of a future. Right now, any future seemed better than this.

Their steps grew quicker with every movement closer to the promise of a new world. They exchanged a look, a brief smile as they made the final ascent, running from the dragons and Draglings and any beasts that came near their way. Natsu's fists made short work of those who dared cross their path, protecting the woman with no magical strength, though she did what she could to defend herself with exhausted attacks from her whip.

In the midst of the crumbling world, it was easy to become blind to the flames and explosions all around them. Neither of them could ignore the latest blast, however, both turning to the cataclysmic eruption of billowing flames. Despite being so close to the Eclipse Gate, both turned and stopped, the overwhelming heat illuminating their faces in a red and orange light.

Natsu took a stumbling step forwards, eyes growing wider as he realised where the huge stream of fire was raging. "Erza and Gray…" he breathed, unable to even see the western route beneath clouds of flames. He could feel the disbelief raging through his broken body, a panic edging on his soul that he refused to let through to his conscience sense. Even he could feel his skin cracking at the heat, the full force of a dragon's roar turning the world to ash.

Lucy's hand fell on her mouth, eyes filling with tears. "No…" she whispered.

Natsu took another step forward, eyes glancing over the horizon for some tiny respite from the blasting heat, some nook or cranny which had been saved from the flames, somewhere that he could feel the glimmer of hope that there had been a survivor. He took another step forward, and then charged, head down and determined in his new mission, letting regret and panic fuel his steps. He jumped over the side of the path, skidding down the side of the cliff face and refusing to feel the biting rocks slicing through his legs. He could hear Lucy behind him screaming his name, hear the blasts and roaring dragons around him, but he couldn't hear the voices that he needed.

He only stopped his desperate running to jump back from the heart of the inferno, surprised that he was so taken back by the ridiculous heat that knocked him back into sense. He looked around, realising that he was alone in the new wasteland. Very alone. "Gray! Erza!" he cried out, trying once more to find a sanctuary in the devastation.

He circled around the worst of the explosions, eyes wide as he glanced at the huge craters of the dragon's might. There was nothing left. Everything was black or a flickering red. His heart raced quicker, his breathing heavy in his chest, feeling the panic he had originally felt when first seeing the blast creep ever closer. It was as far as the eye could see, a wasteland laid out before him, not even a single building remained standing. There was no where to hide, no where to run, a flat expanse of ash laid at his feet and not one comforting blade of ice or metal amongst the abyss.

"Erza!" He called into the wasteland, refusing to believe what was laid in front of him. No one could survive this devastation.

He stumbled forwards, running into the centre of the darkness and spinning on the spot. "Gray!" he called out.

The ash burnt his nose, filling his senses with nothing but the scents of sulphur. There were no hiding places here but unsurprisingly no bodies left in the complete wasteland, and so he looked back to his next hope. He turned to the castle, watching as one of the giant spires crashed to the ground, knowing that deep inside Eclipse rested and that would be the direction his friends were headed towards. They had promised to meet there and since he couldn't bring himself to believe they had been caught in the explosion, he had to believe they had made it to their goal.

He raced forwards, feet pounding the earth and crumbling beneath his steps. Eventually, the ground began to turn to cracked cobbled stone, away from the inferno which had chilled his heart. The world was destroyed wherever he stepped, but he was at least moving away from the worst of the cataclysm. Here he was beginning to even see the occasional standing building, searching each one in turn and continuing to call out his friends names. It was clear as the path grew winding there was only one route to safety, and he ran quicker. So quick that he almost fell down the canyon.

He threw himself back before he could fall, stabilising himself. His breath caught in his chest, taking hesitant steps forwards and leaning over the edge of new chasm in despair. Miles and miles of darkness fell below him, a huge stretch of gaping emptiness standing between him and the path ahead. Half a staircase remained on the far side, the last few steps crumbling into the darkness below. There was no way left or right, there hadn't been since he left the dragon's rage. He took a staggering step back, turning around back to the broken path he had just walked. There had been no way forward to Eclipse. No possible detour from the path. The road behind him held only death.

The capital city held thousands of lives, innocent people of generations and generations, and he had not seen a living soul for hours. Happy had been taken from him, Erza and Gray had become trapped in the path of inferno, and he had ran from Lucy when she needed protecting the most. He had always been the one to spread hope between his friends, but now he was once again left alone at the end of the world, realising that it was his friends that had always given him the hope to continue.

* * *

Levy squealed as another rock tumbled beside her, curling up into a ball and pulling her papers closer to her chest. Her tears streaked her face, exhaustion washing through her eyes, but every time she told herself she had hurt too much to keep caring, something would frighten her and remind her that she still feared for her life. Gajeel, too, stiffened beside her, his eyes searching through the dim light before finally tutting and shaking his head. "It's just a collapsing building. Nothing's out there," he assured her, smelling nothing in the ashen air but flames and burning bodies.

Levy shuddered and turned back to her papers, though she could barely see them through her tears. The pen was shaking in her hands so much that the words she wrote were nearly illegible, but she continued to write as if possessed.

Gajeel looked down, glancing over the shoulders of the small girl and trying to make out the awkward scrawls. He didn't understand Levy's obsession with words at the best of times, but while they were desperate to catch their breath and make the most of the short respite away from the attacking dragons it seemed the strangest of pastimes. Perhaps if Lily was here he could have explained it, he thought bitterly as he turned his gaze back to the doorway. "You should be resting," he reminded Levy, his voice dry and blaming it on the ash in the air, not the heaviness in his heart.

Levy paused, unable to look up at him while knowing he would be a dark and silver blur to her teared eyes. "I-I just… I need to…" she stumbled, holding onto the papers tightly, wishing that he could understand but wishing that she could put into words why it was so important. "I just.. Don't know if I'll see Lucy again…" she whispered, eyes wide in terror. "I wanted to write to her, to tell her what we have seen, so even if I can't see her again… Maybe she can still…" She couldn't finish her sentence.

Gajeel watched her with the deepest of sympathies. People did the strangest of things when on the brink of apocalypse. The small girl was breaking into sobs and he scooped her into his strong arms, letting her drown her tears into his chest. "I won't let anyone or anything get you…" he promised her. "You're with a dragon slayer in a world full of dragons. You're in safe hands."

She cried, gripping tightly, but it was only for a moment before she once again pulled herself back. "I have to… I have to finish my letter…" she gasped, a fevered determination in her eyes as she turned away from her partner and back to the pen and paper as if her life depended on putting her final words on paper. "I have to do this… I have to write this letter…"

* * *

Lucy was on her knees, eyes glazed as she looked upon the wasteland. She was alone in the desolate world. Loke had taken her zodiac keys but she wouldn't have had the strength to use them even if they were still by her side. She just wanted to feel the warming touch of the golden metal, feel her friends close to her after what felt like years of abandonment. She at least still had her silvers, tapping each one instinctively and breathing their soft names. At least if she died here, their world would be safe. At least if her world was destroyed every other world could live.

"Everyone… Natsu…" She looked behind her, the spire of the beautiful castle crashing to the ground in red splinters. Her tears refused to fall any longer, still perched on the corners of her eyes and fighting against the heat. She did not have the strength to cry, to lift her body, and as she turned and looked straight to the huge red dragon that was poised above her, a mouth full of flames, she even found it impossible to feel fear. Another inferno erupted, the ground before her shattering. The path of fire edged closer, lining the ground and coating the celestial wizard in the ferocious flames.

The wasteland of the western path seemed to be replicated beneath Lucy's feet, but before the flames could even singe her beautifully pale skin, the heat was suddenly drawn back. Confused, she glanced upwards, her savior standing and drawing in the largest of impossible breaths. Natsu was eating the flames, drawing in the dragons power and crafting it into his own. He took in as much as his body could fill, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, a dangerous glare in his eyes as he stared at the red dragon who had dared to attack his last remaining companion. "Sorry I'm late, Lucy" he said, not looking back to the blond as he kept his eyes pinned to the target. "Bastards. Hey, morons. Quit bein' cocky! I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, Natsu Dragneel!" His fist hit his palm, no hint of the familiar smile resting on his face as he threatened the dragons he was so determined to destroy. "A Dragon Slayer."

Lucy shuddered as she was once again enveloped in flames, the aura of the dragon slayer soaking in the terrible heat as he burst through the dragon's roar and exchanged his own, using the powerful magic meant to destroy him to catapult himself onto the back of the nearest beast, disappearing into the world of red wings. Lucy could feel her heart racing once more, the fear that she thought had overcome gripping her as her best friend walked perilously on the edge of danger.

And he was alone, she realised, the sadness overflowing inside of her. He had hunted for the impossible and returned empty handed. A pain erupted in her chest, her lip wobbling. She had lost hope long ago, but a confirmation was a shattering blow. "Natsu… It's impossible…" she whispered, not even able to follow his movements as his flames danced through the night sky.

Determination flashed in his eyes, the kind of determination of a man who had nothing left to lose. "Not hardly! I'm still goin' strong!" he yelled defiantly, just before the dragon swung his tail back and threw him from his back, sending him flying straight back down to the ground below.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed, amazed that she still had the capacity to panic.

The ground where he lay remained still. The crator his fall created had twisted every muscle in his body, filling him with a pain he didn't know could exist. He gritted his teeth harder, frowning deeper, trying to think of anything but the agony inside his chest, body and heart. It hurt to breath, hurt to think, hurt to live. But Lucy was screaming for him, Lucy still cared for him and there was one last way to save the world. "I ain't giving up… " he said, pulling himself heavily up. "Not matter what… I ain't gonna run…" he promised, feeling the loss of every one of his friends, every one of the citizens of Crocus, push his resolve further than he thought it could go. "Or go back…" A flame erupted from his clenched fist, taking another step forwards. This was his world, and he had promised his brother that he would fight for it no matter what. It was a promise that he had intended to keep until the bitter end. "This ain't over!" he yelled, rushing forwards to disappear into flames and fighting.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed, watching him run back into the fray, crawling over the hot ground towards him.

"Lucy, keep going!" he screamed back, finally hearing her voice through the chaos, the voice that didn't want him to die. He flinched, not fully understanding why that stung as much as it did. "You have to get to Eclipse!" he yelled, blasting one of his powerful roars towards the beasts.

Lucy's words caught in her chest, a traitor chest falling down her cheek as she scrambled back to her feet. It felt hopeless, it felt impossible, but Natsu was convinced that there was still something worth fighting for. He was right; there would always be something worth fighting for when Natsu was by her side, she thought with wavering conviction, taking several steps backwards. "I can't… I can't go without you…" she whimpered, stumbling backwards as the ground hissed beneath her feet.

He hesitated, realising that the dragons were swarming around him now. The closer he was to Lucy the more he would pull her into danger, but to let her run the last gap alone with no celestial magic left and no zodiac keys seemed just as dangerous. He took another step back to her, cursing under his breath. Today may not be the day he would kill his first dragon. He turned and ran at full speed towards her, grabbing her wrist as he passed the blond and hissing "Come on", dodging out of the way of crumbling building, scorching breaths and pools of lava.

Lucy gasped, instantly dragged by the dragon slayer and leaving only her loose tears behind. She barely had the strength to run, her boots dragging more across the ground than they were lifting with steps, biting her lip to stop herself from screaming out in pain. Her feet were bloody and burnt, but she was alive. The dragons were edging closer, but they were alive.

And as she stopped she realised that finally, finally, they had reached Eclipse.

Lucy stopped, heart finally lifting, stepping forwards and seeing the final golden key resting on the ground beneath the giant gate. "Loke!" she gasped, recognising the glitter and familiar feeling of the lion, running and scooping it into her hands. She smiled, holding it close and feeling the warmth under her fingertips. She could feel his magic charging through the air, tears falling as she realised that this was almost over. They were at the gates, they had hope, and she had Natsu by her side.

"They're coming," the dragon slayer said quickly, keeping his eyes on the looming lizards on the horizon. "Quickly, Lucy, activate it now!"

Lucy nodded, pressing the key into her palm tightly and reaching in her very last strain of magic to lift the key through the air, slotting the Gate of the Lion straight into the last remaining hole and twisting it with a click and taking a step back.

"Something's wrong…" she whispered, looking at the gate in horror.

"Huh? What do you mean something's wrong?!" Natsu yelled desperately, "You can fix it, right?!"

Lucy stared up at the gate, examining each of the stones and intricate markings. It was scratched and burnt, but it would have been strange for such an immense structure to be completely immune to the devastation around them and it was a miracle that it had lasted this long. As the final key had turned there had been nothing but silence, however, and a growing realization haunted the celestial wizard. "No power… Loke said that it had closed when it ran out of power…!" she whispered in despair, remembering the magical energy that the gate had hungrily swallowed.

"Then step back, Lucy," Natsu said, gently moving the celestial wizard back as he pushed his hand against his fist, glaring up at the huge gate before him. Whatever he attempted in this attack would instantly drain him and he wouldn't have a second chance. Even if letting the gate soak every every last drop of magical energy didn't kill him, he knew that he wouldn't be able to follow Lucy into the other world. He could only hope that he had enough strength to power Eclipse enough to send Lucy far enough back to make a difference, far enough to save this world, the world that he had fought so hard to keep, the world he had faith in. "I'm leaving this up to you, I believe in you Lucy," he said, a faint flicker of a smile appearing on his face as his hair covered his tearing eyes.

"Natsu…" she breathed, her hand over her mouth as she recognised the self-sacrificing look across his face. She was once again hopeless, powerless and being protected by the people she wanted nothing more than to protect. Even if she had a single drop of magic in her veins, the Eclipse Gate would not absorb her celestial powers while charged by the zodiac keys. "Natsu, you have to come with me!" she begged him.

He kept his grin on his face, taking in the deepest of breaths, drawing on the innermost magic, pouring every part of his heart and soul into the one last drop of hope in the ocean of fears and flames. He roared a terrifying dragon's attack, twisting his magic straight to the central jewel of the magnificent gate, refusing to fight against the clawing desperation of the gate. It drank and drank and he fell to his knees, continuing to push forwards every last drop of magic. As the dragon slayer became weaker, Eclipse became stronger. The gate could have his entire magical container, and his second, and even his third. It could have tomorrow's reserves and the day after that's and every day for the rest of his life. His roar turned into a scream, feeling the flesh burning as his skin erupted into flames, the claws of eclipse dragging through his soul.

At least he would never have to see Lucy die again.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed as he fell to the ground, falling to her own knees and ignoring the blinding light of Eclipse behind her. She ignored the humming, the warming glow, the twisting vortex spinning and pulsating, her eyes pinned on the fallen dragon slayer who was lying very, very still.

Lucy wasn't singing, she was screaming.

Her world crashing around her and submerging into flames and terrifying silence. She gripped the ground, knowing that she simply didn't have the strength to go back to her feet. "Natsu…" she choked, tears falling freely and wishing that she could pull him up when she could barely lift her own head. "I'm sorry, I can't even… I'm not strong enough… I can't go through Eclipse…" she whimpered. Her feet ached, her heart was heavier than ever and she was staring at her friend and desperately wishing he could stand, take her hand, and pull her through the swirling vortex that he had successfully powered.

The comforting arms of Anna Heartfillia's soul wrapped themselves around the young celestial wizard, drying her tears with the softness of magical winds dancing over her, lifting her back to her feet gently and drawing her into Eclipse. "I am very sorry, Lucy Heartfillia, but I'm afraid that your journey is not over," the words flooded her soul and pierced her sadness, dragging her back as the image of her fallen friend became smaller and smaller. "My name is Anna Heartfillia, I am your ancestor. Your friend has made a great sacrifice for the safety of this world, and I am once again in his debt. A Dragneel will always save a Heartfillia."

Lucy shook her head in disbelief, the fiery world a tiny dot now in the middle of the swirling vortex, the energy of Eclipse overcoming her completely. "No, no, no, this can't be happening…" she whispered. "Natsu…"

"You are right, it can't happen," the woman guided her, drawing her closer to the furthest side of the abyss and slowly allowing the new world to open before them. "Zeref was correct; the world's timeline was repaired as my gate was opened and what you have seen before you is the way that the world is supposed to be, but it is not the only correct future. There are three equally true futures that have opened from 7th July. It is your responsibility to create these new futures, Lucy."

Lucy's eyes went wide, realising that she was moving straight back into the world. It was bright, filled with glorious colors, so much more than black, grey and red. Her heart beat quickly in her chest, terror in her eyes. "But… I don't know what to do! I… I can't do this…" she trembled, the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"I, too, believe in you, Lucy," the Eclipse Gate told her, a smile carried with her musical voice. "Welcome to July 4th, Crocus city, Lucy of Fairy Tail, Lucy of the future of ten thousand dragons."

* * *

Lucy walked through the streets, heart racing in her chest as she stumbled through the blinding lights and celebrations. Crocus city was full of love and joy, the lacrima on every corner showing the faces of her friends and their latest victories. She stopped in front of the largest, her eyes brimming with tears as she watched each of the people she loved with their moments of happiness and defeats, the promise of victory waiting just around the corner. Things had seemed so simple when all they needed was to reclaim the respect of Fairy Tail. She put her hand on her guild mark, wincing as she felt the burnt skin that bubbled against the pink ink. Her tears were falling fast and became she aware that she was drawing attention. Her clothes were ripped and falling from her body, burn marks twisting across her pale skin and ash smudging what tears had not washed away. She took a stumbling step back as a elderly couple asked if she was alright, unable to speak and turning on her heel and dashing forwards before they could recognise her as the smiling girl illuminated behind them.

She coughed heavily as she hung in the alleyway, using the stone walls to support her as she choked on the last of the terrible dust of her old world. Eclipse had trusted her, Natsu had believed in her, but she had never felt more helpless. She couldn't bring herself to meet with her friends and to show them what terrors lay before them if she would just be helpless to protect them. She shook her head, her blond hair falling over her eyes, but tensing as she suddenly felt soft fabric on her back.

She blinked quickly, taking the black cloak into her hands and glancing at the fine stitching. She recognised the impossibly soft sheen, the golden warmth, the comforting scent. Her eyes slowly raised, her heart skipping as she gazed upon the familiar face. "Loke…" she whispered, her voice carrying over silent archway.

Loke offered one of his charming smiles, stepping closer and gently pulling the celestial wizard taller, straightening his cloak across her shoulders. "I was worried you wouldn't make it," he told her seriously, concentrating as he brushed her beautifully blond hair back over her shoulders. "I'll bring you better clothing soon, but for now this will have to do."

Lucy pulled the cloak closer, looking at the thick black material resting in her hands. A realisation slowly began to dawn on her, catching the expression on her spirit's face, "You… You remember what happened to me…?" she whispered again. "But this is July 4th, isn't it?"

He nodded seriously, taking a step back and examining his work. She still didn't look entirely presentable, but at least now she would not turn so many heads as they walked through the streets. Gently, he pulled on the hood and began to pull it over her head to protect the sadness in her eyes. "I do, and yes it is," he confirmed, "Time works differently in the celestial realm. Are you alone?"

Lucy trembled, unable to answer.

Loke nodded again, tucking the last of her blond strands beneath her hood. "I see…" he murmured, finding it impossible to allow sadness into his voice though struggling to show any happiness either. "Well, at least you have made it. At least we have some hope."

"Your… Key…" Lucy mumbled.

"You don't have it," Loke told her, already knowing her next words and biggest concerns. "I'm sorry, Lucy, but you are not my master in this timeline. I'm afraid my key belongs to another Lucy, the Lucy from this future. I can only do so much to help you now," he said sadly, his fingers lingering across her cheeks as he brushed back the remains of dried tears.

She swallowed hard, her eyes slipping down. Now she felt even more alone, even more terrified, the gaping hole inside of her heart growing wider with every step into the new world. "I… I see…" she said, still trying desperately to understand.

"But, as a friend, I will do anything you need," he promised dearly, lifting her chin back up to move her sad gaze back to his. "Come with me; I'll get you a room and a decent meal, and then we can plan saving the world and preventing yours from ever existing," he told her, offering another comforting smile.

She shuddered, unable to appreciate the softness in his voice or the way his words tried to almost appear playful. She pulled herself backwards, shaking her head and wrapping her cloak closer around herself. She could still hear the screams in her ears, still see the fire and feel the burns across her skin. "Does… Does this Lucy know I'm here…?" she whispered, trying to distract herself from her inner horrors.

Loke shrugged, "No… If she asks I'll just say I'm on a date," he smirked.

She gritted her teeth tightly. It seemed so easy to the celestial spirit that Lucy almost had to question whether he really had seen the broken world she had come from, whether he had felt the weeks of torture as they had been split apart, seen the world crack upon a terrible choice, watched nakama fall to their knees to never get up again. She turned away, unable to even meet his eyes, not certain if she felt sadness or anger from his blasé nature. "You shouldn't lie to your master, especially when that master is me…" she said, her hands gripped into tight fists, "But… I'm going to need you to lie a little longer."

Loke tilted his head curiously. "Oh?"

She trembled, but the words carried a strength that she barely knew existed inside of her. "You have not seen me. You have not seen my world," she instructed him.

His frown deepened, pushing his glasses back with a shimmering gleam. "I don't see what that'll achieve, other than making it more difficult for you."

"It won't help her to know what happened to you, or how we suffered," she told him, her voice shaking at the thought. She had felt her heart pounding in her chest, knew that the man in front of her had made her heart ache uncomfortably in his absence, but she knew now that there had been a worse pain. "I'm going to tell the others that if they open Eclipse it will unleash ten thousand dragons."

Loke paused, thinking carefully, "I would expect so. We only have a few months, and-"

"We have three days."

Loke paused, listening carefully and weighing his answer carefully. "So you're lying to them."

"I-I'm not lying…" She hesitated, a broken determination resting in her eyes, visible as the innocence stripped away. "If this first Eclipse Gate opens then it will cause the chain of events that will unleash ten thousand dragons. I don't need to tell them about the second gate or the world without Zeref. There is no reason for them to suffer if we can close the first gate. You told me yourself, every gate in Eclipse is connected to one another. If we stop one, we can stop them all."

Loke hesitated, thinking quickly and trying to find flaws within the plan. The Eclipse magic ran through his own veins, the answers to every matter of time travel and destiny written in the stars where he lay, but that did not mean that he held all of the answers. Something about the message felt impossible, felt terrifying, but he couldn't place his reasons. "You're certain about this?" he questioned lightly, knowing he would place all trust in any Lucy before him.

She nodded firmly, even pulling out her journal. "If I can convince myself that opening the first Eclipse will be the end of the world, I can prevent all of this. I can protect all of my friends," she said, a terrifying resolve burning in her eyes, even as she looked like she would crumble to the ground at any moment. "As far as the world will be concerned, as far as I'll know, there was only one Eclipse Gate and it destroyed the world in ten thousand dragons…" she swore, looking at the inked pages in her hands and thankful that she had been too sick to add most of the days after the impossible world. It would take only a simple spell to erase the future that would no longer exist, to replace her accounts of dragons and devastation into the early days of July. This world's Lucy was still full of light and happiness while in the Grand Magical Games, while the Future Lucy could not watch her heart break in empathy. There was no reason for any of her nakama to feel her darkness, her tears and her pain, no reason to even raise the question of which world to save.

This was their last chance to create the best future for everyone.

The way the world was supposed to be.

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone that has read this far and for all your support! Next chapter is the LAST chapter!**

 **And before you ask 'oh what'll happen next?'... You know what happens next. Canon happens next. Rogue from Future 2 comes and ruins Lucy from Future 1s plans. 7 dragons instead of ten thousand. Future Lucy ends up dying (Now I feel kind of bad for future Lucy since she's this world's actual Lucy...)**

 **Oh and forgot to mention a huge thanks to CabbageGirl99 for helping give inspiration for the Grayza moment in the last chapter!**

 **(PS If anyone wants to help me with this ending chapter then... Please... Help... Haha)**


	25. Return

**FINAL CHAPTER!**

* * *

The soft white walls rarely listened to a word. A gently breeze passed through the ajar window, tilting new flowers towards the large room and brushing back scarlet red hair. The woman glanced back, feeling the chill and rising back to her feet. She looked squarely at the window, pulling down the vase of flowers and yanking it shut. After all, he never really liked the cold anyway.

"Erza…"

The timid woman jumped. She yelped at the sound piercing the silence, holding onto the window handle so tightly her hands turned white. Slowly she dared to open one of her tightly shut eyes, blinking as she realised this was not some demon but a kindhearted blond with a awkward smile on her face. "O-oh, right. Hello, Lucy. Sorry, you frightened me," Erza stuttered.

"So I see…" Lucy said, seriously wondering if Erza was feeling alright. She had always seemed vulnerable, but she had never seen her jump so high at just the mention of her name.

"I know, I'm late, I'm sorry," she mumbled quickly and apologetically, quickly sealing the window shut and wringing her hands together, rushing back to her seat to take back the last of her belongings. "I was just dropping off some things here. I'm on my way now, please don't tell the master-"

Lucy sighed, realising now why the barmaid was so jumpy. She had a definite sense of pride for her job in the guild. "The master already knows," she said, stopping her in her tracks. "Your shift has been swapped with Kinana's."

Erza froze on the spot, feeling herself filling with fear and distrust. "I-I'm not fired, am I…?" she whispers.

Lucy looked completely surprised, unable to understand how such a fantastic barmaid could ever think she was in the brink of exiting the guild, especially at a time when they all needed to pull together more than ever.. "Not a chance," she grinned, gently turning her back around to look into her eyes and see the seriousness. "You are very good at what you do, Erza, and even if you weren't our barmaid you would still be a member of this guild, remember?" she said, raising her hand as she showed off her proud guild mark.

Erza's eyes softened at the new yet familiar shape, reaching over and touching her own red mark across her arm. The guild marks had changed significantly, the Fairy Tail mark's wings twisted into the elegant spikes of Pixie Wing's wing, though many of the members had been keen to keep both their old and new symbols as a tribute to the terrible fate that had brought them together. Erza had chosen all three, Fairy Tail, Pixie Wing and the new Pixie Tail, her own nod to the unity of guilds while she couldn't bring herself to take away her Fairy Tail mark. "I understand," she nodded gently. "I should probably get going…"

Lucy tilted her head, suddenly remembering her confusion when she had come here. "When they said that you would be here, I didn't believe them…" she admitted curiously, her eyes glancing around the infirmary. The room looked nice, tranquil and serene, but it was clearly not the sort of place to soak in the ambience. Lucy didn't even have to look behind her to see the silent body that she had been sat beside. "But they said that you come here quite often. I don't understand… You and Gray didn't exactly talk much, did you?"

Erza looked down, feeling inexplicably guilty. "No, we didn't…" she admitted, knowing that she should have never been staying by the side of someone who was not even her friend. The words that she and Simon had uttered about the Fire Maker had been less than amicable, in fact, and now she could feel every word biting into her painfully. "I guess I just find it sad that there's no one else here…"

Lucy nodded and sighed, putting a hand on Erza's shoulder. The kindhearted redhead truly had love for everyone, the protective nature that would one day be her downfall. "We all lost a lot of friends. I think people don't like to be reminded of that…" she whispered, though she knew that many of the guild kept their distance for other reasons. Gray had been playing both guilds against each other and the days after the Grand Magical Games revealed just how much of a traitor he had been. His closest and dearest had almost all been caught in the Sudden Death and the rest found it difficult to keep visiting after weeks of unconsciousness. "I think he just reminds people of everyone we lost, you know? I mean, what's the difference between him and everyone else that died?"

"The difference is that he could wake up…" Erza murmured under her breath, unable to meet Lucy's eyes.

"So it's hope?" Lucy thought she was beginning to understand.

Erza hesitated, knowing that the explanation wasn't as simple as that, but hope was certainly one of the main reasons she remained by his bedside. "It is… a little…" she said awkwardly, looking at the walls and flowers and not to either the sleeping Fire Maker or the celestial wizard. "But… The Zeref World…" Even without looking, Erza could feel the celestial wizard tense at the words. "When that Erza took over me I could feel something for him. Something incredibly powerful, some kind of bond that I-I don't actually want to lose…"

The celestial wizard put her arms in front of her chest protectively. "That wasn't you. And it certainly isn't him."

"I know you've been looking out for me a lot since then, Lucy," Erza said, her eyes surprisingly sharp as she looked back at Lucy. It was one of those rare gazes that could make anyone flinch before remembering that they were staring at a sweet yet busty barmaid. "And I know that you've been looking for 'Natsu'."

Lucy bit her lip. Erza had an uncanny way of hearing every single slither of information that made its way through the guild doors and it made her undeniably one of the strongest allies to have within the guild despite her physical weakness. Though she needed strong allies, Lucy knew that wasn't the reason she had become her close friend after the Ripple, why she had kept an eye on the blue exceed, or why she had been constantly searching for a 'Natsu'. "OK, fine," she held up her hands. "I was curious if there really was a Natsu, that's all. And I was never not your friend, Erza, but after the Grand Magical Games we all needed to take care of each other…" she said, her eyes filling with tears at just the thought of all the lives that had been lost. She had even been convinced that she was one of the dead, still unable to explain just how she had woken once the dragon slayer disappeared into the gate. It was a miracle she had never wanted to give much attention, terrified that she too should have been ripped from her own world.

"You have your reasons, I have mine," Erza told her seriously. "Besides, if I hadn't hit him…"

"Erza, they already told you that had nothing to do with it!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes wide as she realised that the guilt was still gripping her friend. "And it wasn't you, it was that other Erza! You know that!"

Erza gritted her teeth, forcing her words through. "I hit him and he didn't wake up, Lucy. Polyusica and all of the doctors can say what they like, but that is truth," she said, her eyes staring back at Lucy's with the trembling power lying deep within, ready to strike at any moment.

Lucy sat on the end of the bed beside her, though she was suddenly slightly terrified of the barmaid. Everyone knew that as wonderfully happy-go-lucky and smiley as the redhead was, it was not wise to get on her bad side. "Erza, you know that you couldn't have done this. Polyusica said that his soul is gone. Look at him; he hasn't aged or needed food or water in weeks. Nothing you did to him could have done this."

Erza turned away. "I know that," she admitted, her voice soft but strained. "Every part of me knows that, but I still want to protect him. I-I have memories, I still have so many memories of emotions that aren't mine, and I can't help but wonder if they could have been mine. If all of us could have been friends. Their guild, their nakama… It seemed nice, didn't it?"

Lucy hesitated but nodded. She hadn't been able to push the image of Fairy Tail, the other Fairy Tail, out of her head since they had consumed them with their powerful emotions. It was one of the reasons she had been obsessively searching for 'Natsu', for the missing link and the one who had made her feel more powerful, more emotional, braver with every step. The two guilds Pixie Wing and Fairy Tail had joined together at long last but already there were problems and it would take generations to become the place of hope and light they had touched. "It did…" she admitted softly.

Erza wasn't watching Lucy's reaction. She was staring at the man on the bed, her eyes wide as she froze in both horror and excitement. "He's… waking up…"

"What?" Lucy jumped up, standing near Erza as if she could somehow give her some stability.

They both stared, realising instantly that Erza had been correct. He was moving, a feat that he simply hadn't done for weeks, his arms twitching slightly as he became aware of the sheets beneath his fingers. His eyes twisted more forcefully shut, a displeased frown across his face, and eventually opening his eyes and adjusting to the blinding new light.

"G-Gray?" Erza whispered softly while Lucy could only stare wide-eyed.

Gray pulled himself up before he answered, his hand to his head as the visions blurred together. A overpowering flow of emotions, turmoil, torture, sadness and pain span through his mind, emotional distress only narrowly compensated by a feeling of passion of his guild. His mind was spinning, his head aching and filling him with new nausea. He put his hand on the back of his head, feeling through his black hair for some lump to confirm his fears. "Did someone… Knock me out…?" he asked.

Erza blushed deeply. "I, uh, well, uh,-"

"You-you're actually awake…" Lucy stuttered.

Gray glanced back to both the girls, realising that they were both the cause of his pain and what was making it endure. His eyes blurred, pinching the brow of his nose in a desperate attempt to focus on what was happening and his last conscious memory: The gate, Zeref, Natsu, something cold inside of him… He shuddered. "How long was I out?" he dared to ask.

"Um…"

He glanced up, trying to read the expressions of the two girls. Neither one wanted to be the one to break the truth, and from that he was certain it had been a considerable amount of time. The more his eyes focused, however, the more he could see the expressions within his nakama. He could see the anxiety in Erza's stance, see the way Lucy dared to speak up and his eyes went wide as they fell on Lucy's hand. Quickly he snatched out, dragging her hand closer, eyes pinned to the bright pink mark.

"Hey, watch it pervert!" she yelled at him, trying to pull her hand back.

"Pixie Wing…" he realised, staring at the sharp wings resting on the back of her Fairy Tail mark.

The blond blinked, realising that he was noticing the new guild mark with interest and that there would be many painful things left to explain. "Uh, yeah. Pixie Tail… That's what we're calling ourselves now, you know…" she said, swallowing hard.

Slowly, he began to understand. "I'm back in my world…"

* * *

The rest of the day was spent delving into so many explanations that the time passed without notice. Lucy and Erza told of the death toll from the Grand Magical Games and the tentative and terrifying meetings between Fairy Tail and Pixie Wings in the following weeks. They had only been a new guild for a few short days and there were clearly many difficulties left to face. When they spoke they were cautiously optimistic, explaining how the two combined would be stronger than ever and most of the devout followers of Mavis Vermillion had been killed by her hands or so terrified by the entire experience that they had been willing to turn back to an official guild. Pixie Tail's promise of a new beginning for many of the broken families in Fairy Tail and Pixie Wing was a desire they all clung to desperately.

Gray his head hung in silence as he listened, trying to gather the courage through his failure. His parents were dead. His best friends were dead. Pixie Tail was painfully similar to the ambition he had when he first began turning both guilds against one another, and he had even payed the price he had said he was willing to pay for it. It stung deeper than he could explain and with no cold inside of him to make his head or heart ache he knew that every emotion flooding through his body was his own. This was now his own guilt to endure, his own loss to overcome and the Fire Maker had never felt so cold.

He listened carefully but upon hearing his worst nightmares confirmed, Gray spoke very little. Eventually, they were able to pull small pieces of information from the Fire Maker: He had come from the world of Zeref, he had witnessed a world that had desperately tried to become their own, he had sensed darkness and pain that he could not bare, though he had somehow always felt hope lingering beneath.

"That world is broken beyond repair," he said eventually, frowning as he did so. "It is desperate, it claws at everything good that remains and refuses to let go," he said through gritted teeth, pulling his knees to his aching chest.

Lucy looked genuinely surprised, leaning a little closer and trying to tell herself she wasn't being caught in his manipulative words. "But… They gave up our world for their own. Why would they do that if there's nothing there?"

He glanced up, staring between Lucy and Erza and remembering their counterparts. He had felt Gray's love for them both, his determination to save them and the raging anger if he even so much as suggested double crossing them. It felt strange to not feel the powerful emotions brimming beneath the surface now, and heartbreaking as he realised these people were near strangers. "It isn't empty," he admitted. "I learnt that hard way. They have this sense of kinship and I'll admit that they're very, very powerful. More powerful than anyone in this world, definitely more powerful than I am. But that sense of power comes from other people. Still, it's only a matter of time before they start tearing each other apart and they end up right where we are."

"That's a very negative way of looking at it…" Lucy frowned.

"Yeah well, I'm not exactly all rainbows and sunshine," he hissed, still feeling the blade of grief deep inside of his heart and finally knowing he didn't need to play the part of the Ice Maker for another moment longer. He could finally be angry, passionate and bitter without worrying about his every step.

"I think you're wrong, you know," Erza said with a sharp nod. "I don't think that they'll tear each other apart, or if they do they'll pull it together. I know that sense of… Nakama that you were describing, I remember it clearly when she took over. She had faith."

Gray's mouth turned into a thin straight line. Gray the Ice Maker had faith too, right at those last moments. He had had faith that he had to be better than everyone saw him. He had faith that they should fight for their own world and ignore what should have been obvious. As the Fire Maker grew weaker under the eye of the Eclipse Gate, the Ice Maker had grown stronger, but not as strong as he had suspected. "As soon as the Eclipse began to charge I could feel my world, I could feel it was real and it still existed. I had to get out. I had to run away. That bastard still thinks he 'overcame' me or convinced me that his world is so much better. I honestly don't think he understands how close to being me he is. He thinks that his nakama can overcome anything, but his darkness and desire for revenge is stronger than he realises."

"But you said you wanted to make Eclipse into a way of saving everyone from the Sudden Death…" Erza reminded him slowly, wishing desperately that he had some kind of plan to turn it back around and save everyone that had passed away in the Grand Magical Games.

His eyes sunk down, but instead of the cold sadness he was burning with a passionate anger. His fists gripped tightly, so hard that his entire body shook with his tensing muscles. "There was nothing I could do that wouldn't harm this world more. Eclipse destroyed their world," he explained, receiving disappointed and confused looks. "Ultear told me that I was connected to the breaking of the parallel universes. Maybe that's the reason why I could see what she couldn't. They were convinced that the Eclipse Gate was there to move things back to the way their world should have been, they had convinced me that it could do the same for our world, but I could feel without a doubt that whatever was behind that Gate was the end of the world. Zeref was convinced that the world would destroy itself and in all honesty, that guy seemed to be the only one that actually made sense."

"You mean… That world is… Destroyed now?" Erza asked curiously, unable to shield the pain that that knowledge caused her.

Gray flinched, more than he would have liked to admit. The world itself may have been broken but the people he had found had had more heart than he had ever seen. He had felt love and happiness and passion and determination from every one of his counterpart's closest friends, and they had even extended that faith to himself. It had been a world where even the most tortured of lives could find something or someone to fight for. "I'm certain," he said, his voice stiff. "It was always supposed to be this way. Our world survives and their world crumbles."

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 **A MASSIVE thank you to everyone that has read this, reviewed, inspired, contributed and even just lurked. I seriously love you guys for this lol** **This story has over 2,500 views and an AMAZING 75 reviews! WWZ has over 5,500 views and 33 reviews! This is so incredible so thank you all, and I couldn't have (finally) finished this without you!**

 **Special mention to Kori no Kobito, Zunifex, CabbageGirl99, BlueFlaw and juststrolling23 for your multiple reviews - and to everyone else who has also posted reviews! You have actually given me so many ideas, even those that I may not have mentioned haha**

 **Oh, and did anyone notice the return of the 're-' chapter titles?**

 **I'm not sure what I'm writing yet, I have some ideas but I may be taking requests or suggestions! I may even add more bonus chapters like last time? Who knows!**


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